Giovanni I Cornaro

Portrait of Giovanni I Cornaro by Sebastiano Ricci.

Giovanni I Corner or Cornaro (Venice, 11 November 1551 – Venice, 23 December 1629) was the 96th Doge of Venice, reigning from 24 January 1625 until his death.

Early years, 1551–1625

He was the son of Marcantonio Cornaro and Cecilia Giustinian. He married Chiara Dolfin on 10 February 1578 and the couple had twelve children.

He served as capitano of Verona, before winning a spot on the Council of Ten in 1597. In 1600, he was made podestà of Padua, and in 1603, podestà of Brescia. In May 1609, he was named procurator of San Marco.

Reign as Doge, 1625–1629

Doge Francesco Contarini died on 6 December 1624. Following a long conclave held on 4 January 1625, the Dogal voters converged on Giovanni Cornaro as their preferred candidate. Cornaro's children were strongly opposed to Cornaro's selection as Doge because of Venice's prohibition on the children of Doges being appointed to high office in government or in the Church.

Painting by Filippo Zaniberti showing Cornaro giving a state banquet at the Doge's Palace.

Cornaro now attempted to turn the Dogal position to his family's advantage. In 1626, Pope Urban VIII appointed Cornaro's son Federico Baldissera Bartolomeo Cornaro as a cardinal. This move was ultimately ratified by the Senate of Venice, but a latter attempt to make Federico Cornaro Bishop of Vicenza, and later, Bishop of Padua, were successfully blocked.

In 1627, Renier Zen, a Capi of the Council of Ten, emerged as a vocal critic of Cornaro, accusing him of running Venice for his own family's benefit by, among other things, turning a blind eye to his son Giorgio's trafficking in contraband goods. On 27 October, Zen caused an uproar at a meeting of the Great Council by accusing the Cornaro family of corruption; although the elections were annulled, he was unable to obtain any further sanctions. On December 30, Renier Zen was attacked by masked assassins, who were later found to include Giorgio Cornaro, the son of the Doge.

Zen grew even more outspoken in his criticism of Cornaro in the wake of Giorgio Cornaro's failed assassination attempt. Venice now became divided into two factions, a pro-Conaro faction that was pro-papal and backed by the Venetian oligarchs, and a pro-Zen faction that was anti-papal and backed by the poorer nobility (although Zen was probably not the standard bearer for liberty he was sometimes portrayed as in nineteenth-century tragedies). Rioting broke out between the two factions on 23 July 1628, and for the rest of Cornaro's life, Venice was locked in a civil war. The Venetian government had basically broken down by late 1628. Cornaro died on 23 December 1629, with a new war in Montferrat looming. He and his wife are buried in the Tolentini.

References

This article is based on this article from Italian Wikipedia.

External links

• Web page profiling Cornaro

Doges of Venice
Byzantine period (697–737) Paolo Lucio Anafesto Marcello Tegalliano Orso Ipato
Regime of the magistri militum (738–742) Domenico Leoni Felice Cornicola Teodato Ipato Jovian Ceparius John Fabriacus
Ducal period (742–1148) 8th century Teodato Ipato* Galla Lupanio* Domenico Monegario* Maurizio Galbaio Giovanni Galbaio* 9th century Obelerio degli Antenori*† Agnello Participazio Giustiniano Participazio Giovanni I Participazio* Pietro Tradonico† Orso I Participazio Giovanni II Participazio♦ Pietro I Candiano‡ Pietro Tribuno 10th century Orso II Participazio Pietro II Candiano Pietro Participazio Pietro III Candiano Pietro IV Candiano† Pietro I Orseolo♦ Vitale Candiano♦ Tribuno Memmo Pietro II Orseolo 11th century Otto Orseolo* Pietro Centranico* Domenico Flabanico Domenico I Contarini Domenico Selvo* Vitale Faliero Vital I Michele 12th century Ordelafo Faliero Domenico Michele Pietro Polani * deposed     † executed or assassinated     ‡ killed in battle     ♦ abdicated
Republican period (1148–1797) 12th century Domenico Morosini Vitale II Michele Sebastiano Ziani Orio Mastropiero Enrico Dandolo 13th century Pietro Ziani Jacopo Tiepolo Marino Morosini Reniero Zeno Lorenzo Tiepolo Jacopo Contarini Giovanni Dandolo Pietro Gradenigo 14th century Marino Zorzi Giovanni Soranzo Francesco Dandolo Bartolomeo Gradenigo Andrea Dandolo Marino Faliero† Giovanni Gradenigo Giovanni Dolfin Lorenzo Celsi Marco Cornaro Andrea Contarini Michele Morosini Antonio Venier 15th century Michele Steno Tommaso Mocenigo Francesco Foscari* Pasquale Malipiero Cristoforo Moro Nicolò Tron Nicolò Marcello Pietro Mocenigo Andrea Vendramin Giovanni Mocenigo Marco Barbarigo Agostino Barbarigo 16th century Leonardo Loredan Antonio Grimani Andrea Gritti Pietro Lando Francesco Donato Marcantonio Trivisan Francesco Venier Lorenzo Priuli Girolamo Priuli Pietro Loredan Alvise I Mocenigo Sebastiano Venier Nicolò da Ponte Pasquale Cicogna Marino Grimani 17th century Leonardo Donato Marcantonio Memmo Giovanni Bembo Nicolò Donato Antonio Priuli Francesco Contarini Giovanni I Cornaro Nicolò Contarini Francesco Erizzo Francesco Molin Carlo Contarini Francesco Cornaro Bertuccio Valiero Giovanni Pesaro Domenico II Contarini Nicolò Sagredo Alvise Contarini Marcantonio Giustinian Francesco Morosini Silvestro Valiero Alvise II Mocenigo 18th century Giovanni II Cornaro Alvise III Mocenigo Carlo Ruzzini Alvise Pisani Pietro Grimani Francesco Loredan Marco Foscarini Alvise IV Mocenigo Paolo Renier Ludovico Manin* † Marino Faliero (1354–55) was convicted of treason, executed and condemned to damnatio memoriae * Francesco Foscari (1423–57) was forced to abdicate by the Council of Ten * Ludovico Manin (1789–97) was forced to abdicate by Napoleon