Domenico Morosini was the thirty-seventh doge

Doge of Venice

The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...

 of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

, reigning from 1148 until his death in 1156.

Descendant of a noble family (he was a count), Morosini succeeded in reconciling the two factions that had divided Venetian patrician families for years, thus ending a political conflict that had also caused the Republic to lose ground in its territories and primacy in its commercial activities.
Quite unexceptional otherwise, Morosini's dukedom was marked by renewed prosperity and reconciliation.

Private life

Morosini's early years are difficult to reconstruct, due to the absence of reliable records and sources. As a matter of fact, his birthyear is unknown, as are the activities and connections of his family before his interest in politics.

This unusual lack of publicly recorded information is likely because his dukedom was relatively unremarkable in terms of conquests, expansion, and events of significance — historians of the Republic would have had little interest in "digging up the past" either to glorify or to marr his legacy.

The Morosini had been raised to countship in the late 10th century C.E.

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

 after they, with the support of Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 Otto II, had vanquished the rival Caloprini family..

Domenico brought the family to the forefront of Venetian political life, starting a tradition that would see his successors contribute greatly to the wellbeing of the Republic.
Ruggiero Morosini would be admiral of the Venetian navy that defeated the Genoese

Republic of Genoa

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....

 in 1298, while Francesco Morosini

Francesco Morosini

Francesco Morosini was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War...

 would defeat the Turks on several occasions, somewhat slowing down the westward progress of the Ottoman Empire in the process.

Public office

Morosini took office at a time when relations between Venice and two of its long-time allies, Byzantine Greece and the Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

, were beginning to deteriorate.

After the death of his father, emperor Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...

, in 1118, John II Komnenos

John II Komnenos

John II Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs , he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina...

 refused to confirm the 1082 treaty (a chrysobull

Golden Bull

A Golden Bull or chrysobull was a golden ornament representing a seal , attached to a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The term was originally coined for the golden seal itself but came to be applied to the entire decree...

) with the Republic, which had given it unique and generous trading rights within the Byzantine Empire (there would be no import duties on Venetian shipments to and from the territories of the Empire). An incident involving the abuse of a member of the imperial family by Venetians led to a dangerous conflict, especially as Byzantium had depended on Venice for its naval strength.

After a Byzantine retaliatory attack on Kerkyra, John II exiled the Venetian merchants from Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, but this produced further retaliation, and a Venetian fleet of 72 ships plundered Rhodes

Rhodes

Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...

, Chios

Chios

Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...

, Samos

Samoš

Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...

, Lesbos, Andros

Andros

Andros, or Andro is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, approximately south east of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The area is...

 and captured Kefalonia

Kefalonia

The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...

 in the Ionian Sea

Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...

.

Relationships with the Normans deteriorated when Venice supported (through its fleet under Naimero and Giovanni Polani, sons of Morosini's predecessor Pietro Polani

Pietro Polani

Pietro Polani was the 36th Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1130 to 1148.Polani was elected Doge over the protests of the Dandolo and Bado families because of his first marriage to Adelasa Michele, who was the daughter of his predecessor Domenico Michele...

) a Byzantine intervention to suppress an uprising at Cape Malea (one of the peninsulas in the southeast of the Peloponnese

Peloponnese

The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...

 in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

) in 1149.

The 1148 conquest of the Istrian

Istria County

Istria County is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula . The area of the county is called Istra in Croatian and Slovene...

 city of Pula

Pula

Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...

, a key port in the peninsula, was followed by an insurgence which Morosini suppressed with atypical shrewdness: in 1150, reconquered Pula swore allegiance to the Republic of Venice, thus becoming a Venetian possession. For centuries thereafter, the city's fate and fortunes would be tied to those of Venetian power.

Morosini's foreign policy sought a rapprochement with the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, which had excommunicated the city of Venice because of its familiarity with the Byzantine Empire (and, thus, its schismatic religion).

The doge extended an olive branch to Pope Eugene III

Pope Eugene III

Pope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...

 by consenting, in 1152, to the independence of the Church within the territories of the Republic — a move that immediately warranted the repeal of the excommunication and, thus, simplified Venetian tradings with Catholic countries.

Further recognition of renewed collaboration came in 1554, when Pope Anastasius IV

Pope Anastasius IV

Pope Anastasius IV , born Corrado Demetri della Suburra, was Pope from 1153 to 1154.-Early life:He was a Roman, son of Benedictus de Suburra, probably of the family of Demetri, and became a secular clerk. He was created cardinal-priest of S. Pudenziana by Pope Paschal II no later than in 1114...

 raised the doge dominator Marchiæ (lit., "ruler of Marche

Marche

The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...

").

Morosini's reconciliation with the Church had positive effects on domestic policy as well, by bridging a long-standing feud between the Polani and Dandolo patrician families.
Enrico Dandolo

Enrico Dandolo

Enrico Dandolo — anglicised as Henry Dandolo and Latinized as Henricus Dandulus — was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1195 until his death...

 had been Patriarch of Grado

Patriarch of Grado

This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado . The patriarchate came into being when the schismatic Patriarch of Aquileia, Paulinus , moved to Grado in the mid 6th century. But in their reunion with Rome in 606, a rival office was set up in Old-Aquileia. Aquileia later entered communion with Rome but...

 at a particularly tense time between Venice and the pontificate, which had caused the Polani family, strong supporters of the Pope, to break relations with the Dandolos.

In an attempt to reconcile the factions that had coalesced around the two families among the patricians, Morosini pushed for a mariage d'affaires between Andrea Dandolo, grandson of Enrico, and Primera Polani, niece of the previous doge.

During Morosini's dukedom, construction of St Mark's Campanile

St Mark's Campanile

St Mark's Campanile is the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy, located in the Piazza San Marco. It is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city....

was finally completed.

Further reading

• Barbaro, Marco. Famiglie nobili venete. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Coll: Fondo ex Foscarini, codex 6155-56.
• Bouwsma, W.J. (1972). De bene instituta re publica. Speculum 47, 540-541.
• Cozzi, G. (1970). Domenico Morosini e il “De bene instituta re publica”,“. Studi veneziani 12, 405—458.
• del Piazzo, M. (1960). Signoria, Dieci di Balìa, Otto di Pratica: Legazioni e Commissarie, missive e responsive (Roma: Ministero dell'interno, Ufficio centrale degli archivi di Stato).
• Jansen, P. (2005). Echec et réussite d’une métropolisation en Italie à la fin du Moyen-Age: étude comparée des cas ligure et marchésan.
• Kohl, B.G. (1993). Venice, A Documentary History, 1450-1630. Sixteenth Century Journal 24, 998-999.
• Law, J.E. (1992). The Venetian Mainland State in the Fifteenth Century. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 2, 153-174.
• Mallett, M. (1972). De bene instituta re publica. The English Historical Review 87, 404.
• McGinn, B. (1986). Circoli gioachimiti veneziani(1450–1530). Cristianesimo nella Storia. Ricerche Storiche Esegetiche Teologiche Bologna 7, 19-39.
• Molmenti, P. (1880). La storia di Venezia nella vita privata dalle origini alla caduta della repubblica (Roux e Favale).
• Morosini, D. (1865). Lettere del conte... al signor abate Francesco Cancellieri di Roma e di questo a quello intorno ad alcune cifre spettanti all'Accademia de'Lincei e per la seconda volta pubblicate. (Ceneda, G. Longo).
• Sanudo, M. il giovane (1989/2001). Le Vite dei Dogi (Padova: Antenore).
• Stivieri, N. (1870). Storia di Venezia: dalla sua origine fino ai giorni nostri ([Stab. di] C. Coen).