Pietro IV Candiano

Pietro IV Candiano (died 976) was the twenty-second (traditional) or twentieth (historical) Doge of Venice from 959 to his death. He was the eldest son of Pietro III Candiano, with whom he co-reigned and whom he was elected to succeed.

Rise

By associating his son with him in the dogeship, Pietro III was trying to establish a hereditary monarchy in Venice. This incurred the wrath of the people, who, in a popular assembly, tried to kill the doge. Pietro IV intervened to save his father's life and exiled him with a small group of followers to Ivrea, where the Margrave Guy took him to his father, the king of Italy, Berengar II.

Pietro III then participated with Guy in an expedition against Theobald II, Duke of Spoleto, and gained the support of Berengar for an assault on Venice. At the head of a band of partisans, Pietro IV defeated his father, but did not kill him. He was then elected sole doge.

Dogado

One of his first acts as doge was the blinding and expulsion of the Bishop of Castello, accused of simony. In June 960, he reconvened the popular assembly and had them approve of a law prohibiting the slave trade.

For political reasons, Pietro repudiated his first wife, Joan, forcing her into the convent of Santa Zaccaria. He had had two children through her: his son Vitale was later elected doge and his daughter Marina was married to Tribuno Memmo, a future doge. In 966, Pietro remarried to the Lombard Waldrada of Tuscany, daughter of Hubert, Duke of Spoleto, and a relative of the Emperor Otto I. As a relative also of the king of Italy, Waldrada brought him a large dowry including the possession of Treviso, Friuli, and Ferrara.

On 2 December 967, Pietro obtained from the emperor the renewal of a series of commercial privileges, for the Venetians in general, but also for himself and his family in particular. While this tightened the ties with the empire of the West, it greatly angered the emperor of the East, John I. John threatened war if the Venetians would not stop contrabanding with the Saracens against whom John was then battling fiercely on multiple fronts. In 971, Pietro had to consent to end the trade with the Moslems.

Death

In 973, Otto I, protector of Pietro IV, died. His successor, Otto II, was busy with revolts in Germany and so the Venetians opposed to Pietro found their opportunity to depose him then. They locked him in his ducal palace and set it on fire. However, the fire spread to the Limitrofe and to Saint Mark's. Shortly, a greater part of the city was burnt. The doge and his young son by Waldrada, Pietro, were killed and their bodies thrown in the slaughterhouse, but were after recovered and respectfully buried in the church of Sant'Ilario. Waldrada survived and the succeeding doge, Pietro I Orseolo, left her an inheritance in order not to irk the emperor and direct his attention to recent events and their perpetrators in Venice. Vitale, surviving son of Pietro IV, fled to Saxony, where he conspired against the new doge.

Sources

• Norwich, John Julius. A History of Venice. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1982.

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