← Explore on the interactive map

Dogeship of Venice

Type Object Region Italy Time c. 697–1797

The Venetian dogeship was the Republic's highest executive office: the doge, elected by the nobility for life, was checked by the Great Council, Coun…

Timeline

  1. c. 697–1100Venice · ItalyThe Republic created the doge's office as nominal head of state, responsible for diplomatic ceremony, presiding over the Senate, and commanding the fleet; early doges held considerable power, later gradually constrained by the noble oligarchy.
  2. 1297–1457Doge's Palace, Venice · ItalyThe Great Council's 'closure' restricted electoral rights to noble families and established elaborate sortition and electoral committee procedures for choosing the doge; the Council of Ten could monitor and impeach the doge, and a secret denunciation box stood in the ducal palace, the design deliberately dispersing power.
  3. 1473–1480Doge's Palace, Venice · VeniceCristoforo Moro was elected doge in 1473 and dealt with tense relations with the Ottoman Empire and shrinking trade; after Moro's death in 1478 Andrea Vendramin succeeded him, continuing to let oligarchic collective decision-making direct diplomacy and war, with limited personal influence for the doge.
  4. 1797Venice · ItalyAfter Napoleon's troops occupied Venice, the last doge Ludovico Manin was forced to abdicate, and the thousand-year-old dogeship was abolished along with the Republic.

Sources