War of Chioggia
Encyclopedia
The War of Chioggia was a conflict between Genoa
and Venice
which lasted from 1378 to 1381, from which Venice emerged triumphant. It was a part of the larger Venetian-Genoese War
which began in 1350.
that had nurtured their growth during the Dark Ages. Their rivalry over trade with the Levant
had generated a number of wars. Genoa, having suffered previous defeats at the hands of the Venetians, had emerged from submission to the Visconti
tyrants of Milan
during the fourteenth century, although it had also been severely weakened by the Black Death
of 1348 which took a toll of 40,000 on the city. Venice had dismembered the Byzantine Empire
in 1204 and gradually taken over land on the Adriatic — bringing it into conflict with Hungary
, and land within Italy — generating a rivalry with Padua.
and Padua
. The King of Hungary
, Louis I, had conquered Dalmatia
from Venice and by 1379 Hungarian forces threatened Venice itself by land from the north. Paduan forces, under Carraresi leadership (Francesco I da Carrara
), cut off Venice's communications to the west. Genoa's allies also included the Patriarch of Aquileia
and Leopold III
, the Duke of Austria.
The danger on land seemed trifling to Venice so long as she could keep the sea open to her trade and press the war against the Genoese in the Levant. Venice's allies included Bernabò Visconti
of Milan
, gave her little help on this side, but his mercenaries invaded the territory of Genoa. His troops were however defeated in September 1379 in the Val Bisagno. Bernabò, whose despotism and taxes had enraged the Milanese, was deposed by his nephew Gian Galeazzo Visconti
in 1385. Imprisoned in the castle of Trezzo, he was poisoned in December of that year.
Venice had the support of John V Palaiologos
, Byzantine Emperor. In 1376, with Genoese help Andronikos IV
had overthrown John V, but in 1379 Venice restored John to the throne.
The war was primarily fought over control of the island of Tenedos
in the Aegean Sea
, and both sides supported different pretenders to the throne of the Byzantine Empire. Tenedos had been acquired by Venice from the Byzantine Empire in 1377, but after this conflict, they ceded it to Savoy and evacuated it in 1381. The Pope decided that the castle on Tenedos should be demolished, rather than be a source of contention between the two cities; 4000 Greek islanders from Tenedos were resettled in Crete
and Euboea
.http://www.doaks.org/Crusades/CR12.pdf
harassed the Genoese stations in the Levant
, Vettor Pisani brought one of their squadrons to action on 30 May 1378 off Cape d'Anzio
to the south of the Tiber
, and defeated it. The battle was fought in a gale
by 10 Venetian against 11 Genoese galleys. The Genoese admiral, Luigi de' Fieschi, was taken with 5 of his galleys, and others were wrecked
. Four of the squadron escaped, and steered for Famagusta
in Cyprus
, then held by Genoa. If Pisani had directed his course to Genoa itself, which was thrown into a panic by the defeat at Anzio, it is possible that he might have dictated peace, but he thought his squadron too weak, and preferred to follow the Genoese galleys which had fled to Famagusta.
(Trogir), where 22 Genoese galleys were found, commanded by Luciano Doria. Pisani attacked Traù, but the port, heavily fortified, resisted his attack. The Venetians, suffering damage themselves, withdrew to Venice.
The financial compensation
was negotiated until 1412, when Šibenik became in 1412 the seat of the main customs
office and the seat of the salt consumers office with a monopoly
on the salt trade in Chioggia
and on the whole Adriatic Sea
.
, but mainly in taking possession of the Istrian and Dalmatia
n towns which supported the Hungarians from fear of the aggressive ambition of Venice. He was ordered to winter on the coast of Istria, where his crews suffered from exposure and disease. Genoa, having recovered from the panic caused by the disaster at Anzio, decided to attack Venice at home while the best of her ships were absent with Carlo Zeno. She sent a strong fleet into the Adriatic under Luciano Doria.
Pisani had been reinforced early in the spring of 1379, but when he was sighted by the Genoese fleet of 25 sail off Pola
in Istria on the 7th of May, he was slightly outnumbered, and his crews were still weak. The Venetian admiral would have preferred to avoid battle, and to check an attack on Venice itself, by threatening the Genoese fleet from his base on the Istrian coast. He was forced into battle by the commissioner (proveditore) Michele Steno
, who as agent of the senate had authority over the admiral. The Venetians were defeated with the loss of all their galleys except six. Luciano Doria fell in the battle, and the Genoese, who had suffered severely, did not at once follow up their success.
When Pisani returned home, he was thrown into prison. However, he was later released when the city of Venice was threatened by the Genoese at the Battle of Chioggia.
On the arrival of Pietro Doria, with reinforcements, the Genoese appeared off the Lido, the outer barrier of the lagoon of Venice, in July, and in August they entered on a combined naval and military attack on the city, in combination with the Paduans under the Carraresi and the Hungarians.
The Venetians had closed the passages through the outer banks except at the southern end, at the island of Brondolo, and the town of Chioggia. The barrier here approaches close to the mainland, and the position facilitated the co-operation of the Genoese with the Paduans and Hungarians, but Chioggia is distant from Venice, which could only be reached along the canals across the lagoon. The Venetians had taken up the buoys which marked the fairway, and had placed a light squadron on the lagoon. The allies soon occupied Brondolo.
This wider conflict takes its name from the fishing port town of Chioggia
, which had a Venetian garrison of 3,000 men. The Genoese were reinforced by the Hungarians and Paduans, and suddenly and unexpectedly they attacked the south end of the lagoon, brought her fleet into the channels of the lagoon and, with her allies, stormed and captured Chioggia on 16 August 1379. By mid-August 1379 the allies had Venice encircled.
The Venetian senate applied for peace, but when the Genoese replied that they were resolved to "bit and bridle
the Horses of Saint Mark
" the Venetians decided to fight to the end. All Venetian reserves were mobilized and Vittor Pisani, imprisoned after the battle of Pola, was released by popular demand.
During the night of 22 December 1379, under cover of darkness, the doge of Venice
Andrea Contarini
and Pisani blockaded Chioggia. They thus cut off the occupying forces from both the Paduans and the Genoese fleet. After launching this diversionary attack on Chioggia, the Venetians managed to sink obstructions closing every channel by which the Genoese fleet might escape from the cul-de-sac
at Chioggia.
The Venetian galley fleet that had been on a raiding expedition in the Mediterranean reached the anchorage off Brondolo on January 1, 1380; this fleet was under the command of Carlo Zeno
, who had left on a plundering expedition before the battle of Pola and had been inflicting damage on Genoese trade in the Tyrrhenian
and Aegean
seas as far as Beirut
and Rhodes
. Zeno returned home in time to join the blockade of Chioggia. It was the Genoese who now were encircled.
The attack on Genoese-held Chioggia was now pressed with vigour. The Genoese held out resolutely in the hope of relief from home. Months of skirmishes followed. The Genoese attempted to clear the barricades in the channels and the Venetians to defend them. Genoese also failed in an attempt to subdue the mercenaries employed by the Venetians who were besieging them.
The heavy Genoese vessels were much hampered by the shallow water and intricate passages through the lagoon. By taking advantage of their embarrassment and his own local knowledge, Pisani carried out a series of movements which entirely turned the tables on the invaders. Pisani executed a succession of night attacks, during which he sank vessels laden with stores not only in the canals leading through the lagoon to Venice, but in the fairways leading from Chioggia to the open sea round both ends of the island of Brondolo. The Genoese were thus shut in at the very moment when they thought they were about to besiege Venice. Pisani stationed the galleys under his command in the open sea outside Brondolo, and during the rest of the year blockaded the enemy closely. The distress of the Venetians themselves was great, but the Doge Andrea Contarini and the nobles set an example by sharing the general hardships, and taking an oath not to return to Venice till they had recovered Chioggia.
But the resources of Genoa had been taxed to fit out the squadrons she had already sent to sea. It was not until the 12th of May 1380 that her admiral, Matteo Maruffo, was able to reach the neighbourhood of Brondolo with a relieving force. By this time the Venetians had recovered the island, and their fleet occupied a fortified anchorage from which they refused to be drawn. Maruffo could do nothing, and on the 24th of June 1380 the defenders of Chioggia surrendered.
The naval Battle of Chioggia
took place on June 24, 1380 in the lagoon
off Chioggia, resulting in a victory for Venice. The Genoese, near starvation, surrendered and thus allowed the Venetians to regain control of the Adriatic.
, the two sides made a peace treaty at Turin
. It gave no formal advantage to Genoa or Venice. But it spelled the end of their long competition: Genoese shipping was not seen in the Adriatic after Chioggia.
This conflict saw the first use of shipborne cannon
s in support of amphibious
assault operations and perhaps against Genoese galleys.
The conflict was nearly disastrous for both sides, and Genoa was certainly crippled. Genoa lost the naval ascendency that the city-state had enjoyed prior to the war. Venice might have suffered as badly, were it not for its admirals Vettor Pisani
and Carlo Zeno
. She regained her strength and continued to impressive maturity until her defeat by the League of Cambrai in 1508.
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....
and 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...
which lasted from 1378 to 1381, from which Venice emerged triumphant. It was a part of the larger Venetian-Genoese War
Venetian-Genoese War
The Venetian–Genoese Wars were a long-standing conflict between the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice for dominance in the eastern Mediterranean Sea between 1256 and 1381. It occurred in four spurts of open warfare. The first three were primarily naval conflicts, fought in the Eastern...
which began in 1350.
Background
The two maritime powers had long been leading commercial powers with ties to ConstantinopleConstantinople
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:...
that had nurtured their growth during the Dark Ages. Their rivalry over trade with the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
had generated a number of wars. Genoa, having suffered previous defeats at the hands of the Venetians, had emerged from submission to the Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...
tyrants of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
during the fourteenth century, although it had also been severely weakened by the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
of 1348 which took a toll of 40,000 on the city. Venice had dismembered the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
in 1204 and gradually taken over land on the Adriatic — bringing it into conflict with Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and land within Italy — generating a rivalry with Padua.
Allies
Genoa's allies included HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
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...
. The King of Hungary
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
, Louis I, had conquered Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
from Venice and by 1379 Hungarian forces threatened Venice itself by land from the north. Paduan forces, under Carraresi leadership (Francesco I da Carrara
Francesco I da Carrara
Francesco I da Carrara was Lord of Padua from 1350 to 1388.The son of the assassinated Giacomo II da Carrara, he succeeded him as lord of Padua by popular acclamation. In 1356 he was named imperial vicar by emperor Charles IV...
), cut off Venice's communications to the west. Genoa's allies also included the Patriarch of Aquileia
Patriarch of Aquileia
The Patriarch of Aquileia was an office in the Roman Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages the Patriarchate of Aquileia was a temporal state in Northern Italy. The Patriarchate of Aquileia as a church office was suppressed in 1752....
and Leopold III
Leopold III, Duke of Austria
Duke Leopold III of Austria from the Habsburg family, was Duke of Austria from 1365 to 1379, and Duke of Styria and Carinthia in 1365–1386.-Life:...
, the Duke of Austria.
The danger on land seemed trifling to Venice so long as she could keep the sea open to her trade and press the war against the Genoese in the Levant. Venice's allies included Bernabò Visconti
Bernabo Visconti
Bernabò Visconti was an Italian soldier and statesman, who was Lord of Milan.-Life:He was born in Milan, the son of Stefano Visconti and Valentina Doria. From 1346 to 1349 he lived in exile, until he was called back by his uncle Giovanni Visconti...
of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, gave her little help on this side, but his mercenaries invaded the territory of Genoa. His troops were however defeated in September 1379 in the Val Bisagno. Bernabò, whose despotism and taxes had enraged the Milanese, was deposed by his nephew Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...
in 1385. Imprisoned in the castle of Trezzo, he was poisoned in December of that year.
Venice had the support of John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...
, Byzantine Emperor. In 1376, with Genoese help Andronikos IV
Andronikos IV Palaiologos
Andronikos IV Palaiologos was Byzantine Emperor from 1376 to 1379.-Life:...
had overthrown John V, but in 1379 Venice restored John to the throne.
Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
in the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, and both sides supported different pretenders to the throne of the Byzantine Empire. Tenedos had been acquired by Venice from the Byzantine Empire in 1377, but after this conflict, they ceded it to Savoy and evacuated it in 1381. The Pope decided that the castle on Tenedos should be demolished, rather than be a source of contention between the two cities; 4000 Greek islanders from Tenedos were resettled 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...
and Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
.http://www.doaks.org/Crusades/CR12.pdf
Cape d'Anzio (May 30, 1378)
During the first stage of the war the plans of the senate were carried out with general success. While Carlo ZenoCarlo Zeno
Carlo Zeno was an Italian admiral from Venice, who is considered a hero of the War of Chioggia against the Republic of Genoa....
harassed the Genoese stations in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, Vettor Pisani brought one of their squadrons to action on 30 May 1378 off Cape d'Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
to the south of the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
, and defeated it. The battle was fought in a gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
by 10 Venetian against 11 Genoese galleys. The Genoese admiral, Luigi de' Fieschi, was taken with 5 of his galleys, and others were wrecked
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
. Four of the squadron escaped, and steered for Famagusta
Famagusta
Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus and is capital of the Famagusta District. It is located east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island.-Name:...
in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, then held by Genoa. If Pisani had directed his course to Genoa itself, which was thrown into a panic by the defeat at Anzio, it is possible that he might have dictated peace, but he thought his squadron too weak, and preferred to follow the Genoese galleys which had fled to Famagusta.
Traù (1378)
Pisani returned to the Adriatic and with a fleet of 25 galleys destroyed the port of Sebenico (Šibenik) and headed towards TraùTRAU
Transcoder and Rate Adaptation Unit, or TRAU, performs transcoding function for speech channels and RA for data channels in the GSM network....
(Trogir), where 22 Genoese galleys were found, commanded by Luciano Doria. Pisani attacked Traù, but the port, heavily fortified, resisted his attack. The Venetians, suffering damage themselves, withdrew to Venice.
The financial compensation
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
was negotiated until 1412, when Šibenik became in 1412 the seat of the main customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
office and the seat of the salt consumers office with a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
on the salt trade in Chioggia
Chioggia
Chioggia is a coastal town and comune of the province of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy.-Geography:...
and on the whole Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
.
Battle of Pola (May 7, 1379)
The next spring (1379) the Venetians attempted to attack Traù again, but were repelled. During the summer of 1379 Pisani was employed partly in attacking Genoa in CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, but mainly in taking possession of the Istrian and Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n towns which supported the Hungarians from fear of the aggressive ambition of Venice. He was ordered to winter on the coast of Istria, where his crews suffered from exposure and disease. Genoa, having recovered from the panic caused by the disaster at Anzio, decided to attack Venice at home while the best of her ships were absent with Carlo Zeno. She sent a strong fleet into the Adriatic under Luciano Doria.
Pisani had been reinforced early in the spring of 1379, but when he was sighted by the Genoese fleet of 25 sail off Pola
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,...
in Istria on the 7th of May, he was slightly outnumbered, and his crews were still weak. The Venetian admiral would have preferred to avoid battle, and to check an attack on Venice itself, by threatening the Genoese fleet from his base on the Istrian coast. He was forced into battle by the commissioner (proveditore) Michele Steno
Michele Steno
Michele Steno was a Venetian statesman who served as the 63rd Doge of Venice from December 1, 1400 until his death.-Biography:...
, who as agent of the senate had authority over the admiral. The Venetians were defeated with the loss of all their galleys except six. Luciano Doria fell in the battle, and the Genoese, who had suffered severely, did not at once follow up their success.
When Pisani returned home, he was thrown into prison. However, he was later released when the city of Venice was threatened by the Genoese at the Battle of Chioggia.
Lido and Brondolo (July 1379)
The Venetians had closed the passages through the outer banks except at the southern end, at the island of Brondolo, and the town of Chioggia. The barrier here approaches close to the mainland, and the position facilitated the co-operation of the Genoese with the Paduans and Hungarians, but Chioggia is distant from Venice, which could only be reached along the canals across the lagoon. The Venetians had taken up the buoys which marked the fairway, and had placed a light squadron on the lagoon. The allies soon occupied Brondolo.
Battle of Chioggia (August 1379–June 1380)
Chioggia
Chioggia is a coastal town and comune of the province of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy.-Geography:...
, which had a Venetian garrison of 3,000 men. The Genoese were reinforced by the Hungarians and Paduans, and suddenly and unexpectedly they attacked the south end of the lagoon, brought her fleet into the channels of the lagoon and, with her allies, stormed and captured Chioggia on 16 August 1379. By mid-August 1379 the allies had Venice encircled.
The Venetian senate applied for peace, but when the Genoese replied that they were resolved to "bit and bridle
Bridle
A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit....
the Horses of Saint Mark
Horses of Saint Mark
The Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of St Mark's is a set of bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga , which have been set into the facade of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, northern Italy, since the 13th century.-Origins:The sculptures date from late classical...
" the Venetians decided to fight to the end. All Venetian reserves were mobilized and Vittor Pisani, imprisoned after the battle of Pola, was released by popular demand.
During the night of 22 December 1379, under cover of darkness, the 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...
Andrea Contarini
Andrea Contarini
Andrea Contarini was doge of Venice from 1367 to 1382. He served as doge during the War of Chioggia, which was fought between the Venetian Republic and the Republic of Genoa....
and Pisani blockaded Chioggia. They thus cut off the occupying forces from both the Paduans and the Genoese fleet. After launching this diversionary attack on Chioggia, the Venetians managed to sink obstructions closing every channel by which the Genoese fleet might escape from the cul-de-sac
Cul-de-sac
A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
at Chioggia.
The Venetian galley fleet that had been on a raiding expedition in the Mediterranean reached the anchorage off Brondolo on January 1, 1380; this fleet was under the command of Carlo Zeno
Carlo Zeno
Carlo Zeno was an Italian admiral from Venice, who is considered a hero of the War of Chioggia against the Republic of Genoa....
, who had left on a plundering expedition before the battle of Pola and had been inflicting damage on Genoese trade in the Tyrrhenian
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
and Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
seas as far as Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and 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...
. Zeno returned home in time to join the blockade of Chioggia. It was the Genoese who now were encircled.
The attack on Genoese-held Chioggia was now pressed with vigour. The Genoese held out resolutely in the hope of relief from home. Months of skirmishes followed. The Genoese attempted to clear the barricades in the channels and the Venetians to defend them. Genoese also failed in an attempt to subdue the mercenaries employed by the Venetians who were besieging them.
The heavy Genoese vessels were much hampered by the shallow water and intricate passages through the lagoon. By taking advantage of their embarrassment and his own local knowledge, Pisani carried out a series of movements which entirely turned the tables on the invaders. Pisani executed a succession of night attacks, during which he sank vessels laden with stores not only in the canals leading through the lagoon to Venice, but in the fairways leading from Chioggia to the open sea round both ends of the island of Brondolo. The Genoese were thus shut in at the very moment when they thought they were about to besiege Venice. Pisani stationed the galleys under his command in the open sea outside Brondolo, and during the rest of the year blockaded the enemy closely. The distress of the Venetians themselves was great, but the Doge Andrea Contarini and the nobles set an example by sharing the general hardships, and taking an oath not to return to Venice till they had recovered Chioggia.
But the resources of Genoa had been taxed to fit out the squadrons she had already sent to sea. It was not until the 12th of May 1380 that her admiral, Matteo Maruffo, was able to reach the neighbourhood of Brondolo with a relieving force. By this time the Venetians had recovered the island, and their fleet occupied a fortified anchorage from which they refused to be drawn. Maruffo could do nothing, and on the 24th of June 1380 the defenders of Chioggia surrendered.
The naval Battle of Chioggia
Battle of Chioggia
The naval Battle of Chioggia took place on June 21, 1380 in the lagoon off Chioggia, Italy, between the Venetian and the Genoese fleets, who had captured the little fishing port in August the preceding year. This occurred during the War of Chioggia....
took place on June 24, 1380 in the lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
off Chioggia, resulting in a victory for Venice. The Genoese, near starvation, surrendered and thus allowed the Venetians to regain control of the Adriatic.
Peace of Turin (1381)
Through the mediation of the "Green Count" of Savoy, Amadeus VIAmadeus VI, Count of Savoy
Amadeus VI , nicknamed the Green Count was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aimone, Count of Savoy and Yolande of Montferrat....
, the two sides made a peace treaty at Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. It gave no formal advantage to Genoa or Venice. But it spelled the end of their long competition: Genoese shipping was not seen in the Adriatic after Chioggia.
This conflict saw the first use of shipborne cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s in support of amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
assault operations and perhaps against Genoese galleys.
The conflict was nearly disastrous for both sides, and Genoa was certainly crippled. Genoa lost the naval ascendency that the city-state had enjoyed prior to the war. Venice might have suffered as badly, were it not for its admirals Vettor Pisani
Vettor Pisani
Vettor Pisani was a Venetian admiral.-Biography:He was in command of the Venetian fleet in 1378 during the war against the Genoese, whom he defeated off Capo d'Anzio; subsequently he recaptured Kotor, Šibenik and Rab, which had been seized by the Croatians and Hungarians, the allies of the Genoese...
and Carlo Zeno
Carlo Zeno
Carlo Zeno was an Italian admiral from Venice, who is considered a hero of the War of Chioggia against the Republic of Genoa....
. She regained her strength and continued to impressive maturity until her defeat by the League of Cambrai in 1508.