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Election of the Doge of Venice

Type Object Region Venice Time c. 1268–1797

The Venetian dogal election was a complex multi-stage lot-and-vote system for choosing the Republic's lifelong head of state, stabilized by the late …

Timeline

  1. c. 1268Doge's Palace, Venice · VeniceAfter the death of Doge Giovanni Dandolo, the Great Council reformed the electoral procedure: multiple rounds of sortition and voting by committees of nine and forty narrowed the candidates, with complex checks to prevent factional manipulation.
  2. 1301–1457Venice · VeniceThe election was held in closed session in the Doge's Palace beside St. Mark's Basilica, with added facilities such as the Sala dello Scrutinio; though noble families still had influence, the sortition mechanism effectively limited hereditary monopoly.
  3. c. 1462–1470Doge's Palace, Venice · VeniceAfter the death of Doge Pasquale Malipiero in 1462, the Great Council elected Cristoforo Moro by the established procedure; elections proceeded normally through the 1461s–1470s, demonstrating the Republic's institutional continuity.

Sources