Agnello Participazio (Latin: Agnellus Particiacus) was the tenth traditional and eighth (historical)

doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

of the

Duchy of Venetia The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

from 811 to 827. He was born to a rich merchant family from Heraclea and was one of the earliest settlers in the Rivoalto group of islands. His family had provided a number of '' tribuni militum'' of Rivoalto. He owned property near the Church of Santi Apostoli. A building in the nearby Campiello del Cason was the residence of the tribunes. Agnello was married to the dogaressa Elena. The name Agnello appeared in the earliest documents (819 and 820) and in John the Deacon's chronicle Historia Veneticorum. It appeared as Angelo in a document datable to 1023. The surname is attested only later, in John the Deacon's chronicle, who attributed it only to

Orso II Participazio Orso II Participazio (died 932) was the eighteenth doge of the Republic of Venice, by tradition (historically, he was the sixteenth), from 912 to 932. History In 912 he was kidnapped in the Adriatic by a Serb prince of Zachlumia by the name ...

(911-932). Its attribution to the whole household and to the prior Participazio doges (Agnello Giustiniano (827–829), Giovanni I (829–836), Orso I (864–881) and Giovanni II (881–887) was established by 19th century scholars. Pozza, Marco, Patriciaco Agnello, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol. 81, 2014
/ref> According to some historians Agnello was elected, while others say that he was appointed by Arsaphios, a Byzantine envoy.

Dogeship

With the attempt of Pepin, the king of Italy and son of the emperor

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

, to invade the Lagoon of Venice, the co-doges Obelerio, Beato, and Valentino degli Antenori fled the duchy of Venetia. After Pepin withdrew, Agnello was elected to the dogeship. He moved the ducal seat from Malamocco to Rivolato. He built the first doge's palace near the old church of San Teodoro. The location was (and still is) where St. Marks Square is now. It was like a castle to defend him more from possible internal enemies than external ones. It burned down when it was set alight during a rebellion against the doge

Pietro IV Candiano Pietro IV Candiano (925–976) was the twenty-second (traditional) or twentieth (historical) doge of Venice from 959 to his death. He was the eldest son of Pietro III Candiano, with whom he co-reigned and whom he was elected to succeed. Rise Pi ...

(959-76). Pepin's attempt to invade the duchy of Venetia led the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

and the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

empires to agree the Peace of Aachen in 812, which was ratified in 814. In this the duchy of Venetia remained under the Byzantines. Its protection against enemies form the mainland was guaranteed. Its boundaries with the Kingdom of Italy were defined. Its rights to sail freely in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

were recognised. Agnello sent his elder son, Giustiniano, on a mission to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. While Giustiniano was away, he appointed his other son Giovanni as co-doge. Giustiniano was enraged. He refused to go to the palace and went to live at the nearby church of San Severo. He managed to change his father’s mind. Giustiniano and his young son Agnello were raised to the co-dogeship. Giovanni was demoted and exiled to Zara (

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

). He escaped and went to

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

. He then went to

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Com ...

and put himself under the protection of the emperor

Louis II of Italy Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''imper ...

. Agnello and Giustiniano sent envoys to the emperor to ask for Giovanni to be handed over. The emperor agreed and extradited Giovanni. He was sent to

with his wife. Later, in 820, the young Agnello was sent to Constantinople for the occasion of the coronation of Michael II, the new Byzantine emperor. He died while he was there. The dogeships of

Giovanni Galbaio Giovanni Galbaio was the eighth Doge of Venice (787–804) according to tradition, but only the sixth historically verifiable one. Life He succeeded his father Maurizio Galbaio, who had associated him as doge in 778. The Byzantine emperor ...

(787–804) and Obelerio degli Antenori (804-811) had been marred by a bitter conflict between a pro-Byzantine faction and a pro-Frankish one, which caused great instability and contributed to Pepin's attempted invasion. Fortunato, the

patriarch of Grado This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado (north-eastern Italy).
'' San Servolo San Servolo is an Italian island in the Venetian Lagoon, to the southeast of San Giorgio Maggiore. Earlier housing a monastery of Benedictine monks, later an asylum for the insane, the island is now home to a museum, Venice International Universi ...

. One of Agnello's first priorities was to repopulate the places Pepin had ravaged:

Chioggia Chioggia (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the L ...

and Albiola. As he was originally form Heraclea, which had been destroyed by his predecessor and by Pepin, he had it rebuilt and renamed Cittanova (New City). He had the church of San Pellegrino, which had been demolished by the inhabitants of

Grado Grado may refer to: People * Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film actress * Jonathan Grado (born 1991), American entrepreneur and photographer * Francesco De Grado ( fl. 1694–1730), Italian engraver * Gaetano Grado, Italian mafioso * ...

during Pepin's attack, rebuilt. Agnello took measures to coordinate the development of Rivoalto. He put Nicolò Ardisonio in charge of fortifying the ''lidi'' ( Lido and Pelletrina, the outlying islands of the lagoon) against the sea, also placing Lorenzo Alimpato in charge of land reclamation and

Pietro Tradonico Pietro Tradonico ( la, Petrus Tradonicus; c. 800 - 13 September 864) was Doge of Venice from 836 to 864. He was, according to tradition, the thirteenth doge, though historically he is only the eleventh. His election broke the power of the Partic ...

of the construction of new buildings. This was the beginning of the Rivolato group of islands developing into the city of Venice. Agnello founded monasteries on the islands of Barnaba and San Giuliano and provided priests with good supplies for the maintenance and decoration of churches wherever this was needed. He and his son Giovanni donated land on their properties in San Illario to the monks on the island of

San Servolo San Servolo is an Italian island in the Venetian Lagoon, to the southeast of San Giorgio Maggiore. Earlier housing a monastery of Benedictine monks, later an asylum for the insane, the island is now home to a museum, Venice International Universi ...

. The Byzantine emperor Leo V the Armenian sent the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of St. Zachary, paid for the construction of a monastery and church of

San Zaccaria The Church of San Zaccaria is a 15th-century former monastic church in central Venice, Italy. It is a large edifice, located in the Campo San Zaccaria, just off the waterfront to the southeast of Piazza San Marco and St Mark's Basilica. It is ded ...

dedicated to this saint and sent architects to build it. He needed the friendship of Venice to obtain its support against the

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

who were invading Sicily.Norwich J. J., A History of Venice, p. 17

References

Sources

* Norwich, John Julius, ''A History of Venice'', Penguin, 2012; *Pozza, Marco, Patriciaco Agnello, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol. 81, 2014 *Romanin Samuele, Storia Documentata Di Venezia, Volume 3. Ulan Press, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Participazio, Agnello Year of birth unknown 827 deaths 9th-century Doges of Venice Agnello