Giovanni Dandolo
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Dandolo was the 48th Doge of Venice
, elected on 31 March 1280, died on 2 November 1289. During his reign the first Venetian gold ducat
was introduced into circulation.
, Francesco Dandolo
and Andrea Dandolo
. Two women from the Dandolo family married doges: Giovanna Dandolo with Pasqual Malipiero and Zilia Dandolo with Lorenzo Priuli
.
Dandolo is a distant relative of many famous figures in Italian history, such as Fra Angelico
, Eugenio Canfari
, Benito Mussolini
.
of Bologna
and Padua
, and commander of the Venetian naval units. The news of his election to doge reached him while he was fighting in a military action against Istria
and Trieste
, which expanded into an open war in the following year, also involving Venice's perennial enemy, the Patriarchate
of Grado
and the Papal States
. More armed clashes followed, and continued for the duration of Dandolo's reign as doge.
After Dandolo signed the peace Treaty of Ravenna with Ancona
, a new military theater opened through the revolt in Crete
led by the Greek Alexios Kalergis and backed by the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII, Venice's rival for the domination of the eastern Mediterranean. These conflicts forced the Republic of Venice to negotiate peace agreements with Charles of Anjou and Philip of France
, concluding an alliance with the former in the Treaty of Orvieto
.
During Dandolo's reign as doge, relations with the Vatican were tense. Venice had refused to join the Papal States in a punitive action against Sicily, provoking Pope Martin IV to excommunicate Venice, which was later repealed in 1285 by Martin's successor, Pope Honorius IV. In 1287 unrest flared up again in Istria
, this time provoked by the Ottomans, and spread to Friuli
. The war widened after the intervention of the German Emperor Rudolf I, who was allied with the Patriarchate
of Grado
, and Venice had to sue for peace.
In 1284, the first Venetian gold ducat
, later called the Zecchino, was introduced into circulation. The ducat would be used until the end of the Venetian Republic and was always made with the same weight, 3.56 grams of 24 karat (99.7 %) gold. The coin was valid in all states with which Venice traded. The name ducat comes from the inscription on the coin's back: Sit tibi Christe datus quem tu regis iste ducatus, which frames a picture of Christ. The front of each coin showed the ruling doges on their knees in front of the city's patron saint, Mark the Evangelist
.
Dandolo was buried in San Zanipolo. The tomb was not preserved, only a stone slab with an inscription commemorates the 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...
, elected on 31 March 1280, died on 2 November 1289. During his reign the first Venetian gold ducat
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
was introduced into circulation.
Family
Dandolo came from a prominent Venetian family that provided three other doges to Venice: Giovanni's great-grandfather Enrico DandoloEnrico Dandolo
Enrico Dandolo — anglicised as Henry Dandolo and Latinized as Henricus Dandulus — was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1195 until his death...
, Francesco Dandolo
Francesco Dandolo
Francesco Dandolo was the 52nd Doge of Venice. He ruled from 1329 to 1339. During his reign Venice began its policy of extending its territory on the Italian mainland.- Family :...
and Andrea Dandolo
Andrea Dandolo
Andrea Dandolo was elected the 54th doge of Venice in 1343, replacing Bartolomeo Gradenigo who died in late 1342....
. Two women from the Dandolo family married doges: Giovanna Dandolo with Pasqual Malipiero and Zilia Dandolo with Lorenzo Priuli
Lorenzo Priuli
Lorenzo Priuli was the 82nd Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1556 to 1559....
.
Dandolo is a distant relative of many famous figures in Italian history, such as Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico , born Guido di Pietro, was an Early Italian Renaissance painter described by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists as having "a rare and perfect talent"...
, Eugenio Canfari
Eugenio Canfari
Eugenio Canfari was an early Italian football player from Genoa. He was one of the thirteen men who founded Juventus in 1897 and the clubs first ever president. His brother Enrico Canfari was also a founding member of Juventus, and the second ever president, though he never played in the Italian...
, Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
.
Life
Before his election as doge, Dandolo occupied various public positions including PodestàPodestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
of Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
and Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, and commander of the Venetian naval units. The news of his election to doge reached him while he was fighting in a military action against 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...
and Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, which expanded into an open war in the following year, also involving Venice's perennial enemy, the Patriarchate
Patriarchate
A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. A patriarch, as the term is used here, is either* one of the highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, earlier, the five that were included in the Pentarchy: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but now nine,...
of Grado
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....
and the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. More armed clashes followed, and continued for the duration of Dandolo's reign as doge.
After Dandolo signed the peace Treaty of Ravenna with Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
, a new military theater opened through the revolt in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
led by the Greek Alexios Kalergis and backed by the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII, Venice's rival for the domination of the eastern Mediterranean. These conflicts forced the Republic of Venice to negotiate peace agreements with Charles of Anjou and Philip of France
Philip of France
Philip of France might refer to:*Philip I of France , King of France*Philip of France , co-king of France, son of Louis the Fat*Philip of France , bishop of Paris, son of Louis the Fat...
, concluding an alliance with the former in the Treaty of Orvieto
Treaty of Orvieto
The Treaty of Orvieto was an agreement made in 1281 between Charles I of Sicily, Giovanni Dandolo, Doge of Venice, and Philip of Courtenay, titular Latin Emperor, for recovery of the Latin Empire, with the blessing of the Papacy...
.
During Dandolo's reign as doge, relations with the Vatican were tense. Venice had refused to join the Papal States in a punitive action against Sicily, provoking Pope Martin IV to excommunicate Venice, which was later repealed in 1285 by Martin's successor, Pope Honorius IV. In 1287 unrest flared up again in 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...
, this time provoked by the Ottomans, and spread to 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...
. The war widened after the intervention of the German Emperor Rudolf I, who was allied with the Patriarchate
Patriarchate
A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. A patriarch, as the term is used here, is either* one of the highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, earlier, the five that were included in the Pentarchy: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but now nine,...
of Grado
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....
, and Venice had to sue for peace.
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
, later called the Zecchino, was introduced into circulation. The ducat would be used until the end of the Venetian Republic and was always made with the same weight, 3.56 grams of 24 karat (99.7 %) gold. The coin was valid in all states with which Venice traded. The name ducat comes from the inscription on the coin's back: Sit tibi Christe datus quem tu regis iste ducatus, which frames a picture of Christ. The front of each coin showed the ruling doges on their knees in front of the city's patron saint, Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
.
Dandolo was buried in San Zanipolo. The tomb was not preserved, only a stone slab with an inscription commemorates the doge.