Giovanni Bembo was the 92nd Doge of Venice

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...

, reigning from his election on December 2, 1615 until his death. His reign is notable for Venetian victories during the War of Gradisca (1617) and for the Bedmar Plot (1618), in which the Spanish ambassador to Venice, Alfonso de la Cueva, 1st Marquis of Bedmar, attempted unsuccessfully to destabilize the Most Serene Republic.

Background, 1543-1615

Giovanni was the son of Augustine Bembo and Chiara Del Basso. The Bembo were one of the vecchie, the old Venetian noble families. Giovanni Bembo's mother provided Bembo with a large inheritance

Inheritance

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...

, which he divided with one brother.

Bembo was enrolled in the crew

Crew

A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard...

 of a galley at age 12, and he remained aboard ship for sixteen years. He fought in the Battle of Lepanto (1571)

Battle of Lepanto (1571)

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...

, showing great courage in spite of repeated wounds.

Following his good showing in the Battle of Lepanto, Bembo was appointed provveditore

Provveditore

The Italian title provveditore or proveditore , "he who sees to things", was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Venetian dogal republic...

. He served with distinction and went on to become savio

Savio

Savio can mean:* Savio , an Italian river* Savio, sector of Kerava town in Finland, and a railway station located in the sector* Savio, Buenos Aires, a settlement in Escobar Partido, Argentina...

, consigliere

Consigliere

Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...

, and Procurator of San Marco

Procurator of San Marco

The office of Procurator of San Marco was the second most prestigious life appointment in the Republic of Venice .-History:...

 in turn.

Reign as Doge of Venice, 1615-1618

Marcantonio Memmo

Marcantonio Memmo

Marcantonio Memmo was the 91st Doge of Venice, reigning from July 24, 1612 until his death.-Background, 1536-1612:...

 died on October 31, 1615, leaving no obvious choice as a successor as Doge. The old noble families (the vecchie faction) were divided between two candidates as doge, while the new noble families (the nuove faction) were unable to unite behind a candidate. After several rounds of voting, the 41 electors were unable to decide on a candidate, leading to rioting in Venice. Eventually, on December 2, 1615, a compromise was concluded and Bembo, a moderate member of the vecchie faction was elected as Doge. As always, sumptuous feasts were held to celebrate the occasion.

For a number of years, Venice had been harassed by Uskoci pirates, encouraged by Ferdinand, Archduke of Inner Austria

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...

, who offered the Uskoci his protection. Bembo's first act as Doge was therefore to declare war on Austria, launching the War of Gradisca (known in German as the Friulian War). This war saw the destruction of the Uskoci. The war took place in Friuli

Friuli

Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...

, Gradisca d'Isonzo, Gorizia

Gorizia

Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...

, and Istria

Istria

Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...

. Venice had the upper hand militarily, with troops under Francesco Erizzo

Francesco Erizzo

Francesco Erizzo was the 98th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on April 10, 1631 until his death fifteen years later...

 besieging Gradisca d'Isonzo successfully until the arrival of troops commanded by Albrecht von Wallenstein

Albrecht von Wallenstein

Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...

 arrived, at which point Venice sued for peace, and a peace treaty was signed in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 on September 27, 1617.

1617-18 saw Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar

Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar

Alfonso de la Cueva-Benavides y Mendoza-Carrillo, marqués de Bedmar was a Spanish diplomat, bishop and Roman cardinal. He was born in Bedmar, in what is now the province of Jaén...

, the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

Ambassador to Venice, attempt to destabilize Venice by sowing discord, which would allow Spanish troops to march into Venice and seize control of the city. Bembo participated in the councils called to stop the Spanish - who were believed to have spies everywhere, but he died while the threat was still current, on March 16, 1618.