Bartolomeo Gradenigo (1263 – 28 December 1342) was the 53rd

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from 7 November 1339 until his death on 28 December 1342. Born in

to an ancient noble family, he was a rich tradesman. Gradenigo devoted to politics very early in his life, acting as

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and

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, as well as '' procuratore'' in the capital. He also became soon renowned for his excessive love for luxury. He married three times and had six children. One of his spouses was Giustina Capello. Staley, Edgcumbe: The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges. London : T. W. Laurie
/ref> His short reign was rather peaceful, apart from a revolt in

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and some

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incursions. It was also characterized by some diplomatic moves towards

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. The most important event was the tempest that struck against Venice on 15 February 1340 and which, according to legend, was pushed back only through the supernatural intercession of

St. Mark Mark the Evangelist ( Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark ( Koinē Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' Aramaic'': ܝܘܚܢܢ, romanized: Yōḥannān'') or Saint Mark ...

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and

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, brought to the lagoon by a humble fisherman. After the storm had disappeared, the three saints gave the fisherman a

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, called "Ring of the Fisherman", which he gave to the doges and has since then been part of the ducal jewelry. Bartolomeo appears in the painting ''

The Presentation of the Ring ''The Fisherman Presenting the Ring to Doge Gradenigo'' is a 1534 oil-on-canvas painting by the Venetian Renaissance painter Paris Bordone (1495–1570). It was painted in Venice for the confraternity of San Marco in 1540. The painting treats th ...

'' by

Paris Bordone Paris Bordone (Paris Paschalinus Bordone; 5 July 1500 – 19 January 1571) was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of Mannerist complexity and provincial vigor. Biography Bor ...

which shows the fisherman presenting the ring to him.

Sources

*Claudio Rendina, ''I dogi di Venezia'', Newton Compton, Rome, 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gradenigo, Bartolomeo 13th-century births 1342 deaths Burials at St Mark's Basilica 14th-century Doges of Venice Barolomeo