Laura Cornaro (died 1739) was the

Dogaressa Dogaressa ( , , ) was the official title of the wife of the Doge of Venice. The title was unique for Venice: while the heads of the Republic of Genoa were also called Doge, the wives of the Doges of Genoa were not called ''Dogaressa'', nor did ...

of Venice by marriage to the Doge

Giovanni II Cornaro Giovanni II Cornaro, sometimes Corner (4 August 1647 – 12 August 1722), was a Venetian nobleman and statesman who served as the 111th Doge of Venice from 22 May 1709 until his death. Cornaro was born and died in Venice. He was a career states ...

(r. 1709-1722). Laura Cornaro was born to Nicolo Cornaro and married her cousin Giovanni II Cornaro in 1667. In 1709, her husband was elected doge, and she subsequently became dogaressa. As dogaressa, Laura Cornaro was described as strict and prudish and in opposition to the greater personal freedom which became more evident in the Venetian aristocracy in the 18th-century: "at all events the fast life of the nobles and their ladies had no charms for her, and she set her face resolutely against the extravagances and indecencies around her". As a widow, Cornaro became a

postulant A postulant (from , "to ask") was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian monastery or a religious order for the period precedi ...

of the Order of the Augustinians of SS. Gervaso e Protasio. She was the last dogaressa for forty years: while Elena Badoer, wife of

Alvise Pisani Alvise Pisani (1 January 1664 in Venice – 17 June 1741 in Venice) was the 114th Doge of Venice, serving from 17 January 1735 until his death. Born as a member of Pisani family, he was a career diplomat prior to his election, serving as Venic ...

(r. 1735-1741) has often been referred to as dogaressa, she in fact died in 1729,Nicolini, F. (1937). L'Europa durante la guerra di successione di Spagna: con particolare riguardo alla cittaʾ e regno di Napoli. Note di cronaca lavorate sugli inediti dispacci degli ambasciatori residenti e consoli veneti. Opera pubblicata sotto gli auspicii del Banco di Napoli.... Italien: Presso la R. Deputazione. s. 470 six years before her husband became doge.

References

* Staley, Edgcumbe: '
The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges
', London : T. W. Laurie, 1910 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornaro, Laura 18th-century Venetian people Dogaressas of Venice Laura 1739 deaths Year of birth missing 18th-century Venetian women