Marco Cornaro (c. 1286 – 13 January 1368), also known as Marco Corner, was the 59th

doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

, ruling from late July/early August 1365 until his death on 13 January1368. His brief reign saw the loss of Venetian territory to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, though Venice was to enjoy economic growth during this time.

Biography

The

Cornaro family The House of Cornaro or Corner were a Venetian patrician family in the Republic of Venice and included many Doges and other high officials. The name ''Corner'', originally from the Venetian dialect, was adopted in the eighteenth century. The o ...

to which the future doge was born was one of Venice's oldest, its lineage traceable to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. It was also one of the richest, having achieved this status from money-lending. The Cornaros would produce three more doges in the 17th and 18th centuries. Marco Cornaro's first marriage was to Giovanna Scrovegni of Padua, with whom he had three sons and two daughters. His second marriage was to a woman named Caterina about whom little is known other than her low social status made his later election to the doge difficult. Dogaressa Caterina was somewhat mocked for her simple habits, which was not seen as suitable for the rank of a dogaressa, but he always defended her and called her a good woman and wife. Staley, Edgcumbe: The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges. London : T. W. Laurie
/ref> Cornaro acquired his own wealth through trade with

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He also followed both military and political careers in the service of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

, leading troops at sea and on the mainland. He served as ambassador to

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

and

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI (; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1 ...

, and was also a member of the Venetian delegation to the election of

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. Cornaro was instrumental in the discovery and suppression of the attempted coup d'état in 1355 by the then doge

Marino Faliero Marino Faliero (, c. 1274 – 17 April 1355) was the 55th Doge of Venice from 1354 until his execution for attempting a Coup d'état, coup d'etat in 1355. Origin and family Marino Faliero was born the son of Jacopo Faliero and Bettiola of t ...

, who intended to declare himself prince of Venice. Following the dissolution of the plot and execution of the conspirators, Cornaro was briefly made vice-doge before a successor to Faliero could be appointed.

Dogal office

On the death of the previous incumbent

Lorenzo Celsi Lorenzo Celsi ( 1310 – 18 July 1365) was a Venetian statesman who served as the 58th Doge of Venice, from 16 July 1361 until his death on 18 July 1365. Biography He was the son of a rich Celsi family, and was previously noted for leading a ...

on 18 July 1365, Cornaro was elected to the dogal office, despite the aspersions cast by his opponents over his advanced age, his wife's low birth and his friendships with foreign princes. Once elected, in contrast to his predecessors, he established a respectful stance towards Venice's public bodies. During the two and a half years of his reign, Venice saw no major changes or wars, although it lost the islands of

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

and

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

and the city of

Phocaea Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Ancient Greece, Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Colonies in antiquity, Greek colonists from Phoc ...

to the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

. He was successful in re-establishing Venetian trade with Egypt by convincing Urban V to rescind his prohibition on dealing with

infidel An infidel (literally "unfaithful") is a person who is accused of disbelief in the central tenets of one's own religion, such as members of another religion, or irreligious people. Infidel is an ecclesiastical term in Christianity around which th ...

s. Cornaro ordered the construction of a wing of the

Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace (''Doge'' pronounced ; ; ) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and th ...

on its side facing

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint Mar ...

. Marco Cornaro died in the early hours of 13 January 1368. He is buried in the Basilica of San Zanipolo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornaro, Marco 1280s births 1368 deaths

Marco Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

14th-century Doges of Venice Burials at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice 14th-century governors