The Bembo family was a noble Venetian family, part of the Venetian noble families of most ancient origins (the ''Longhi'').

History

Although there is no precise information about the origin of the Bembo (there are only late traditions with no historical foundation), the "pseudo-Giustinian" Chronicle of the 1350s lists them in a group of twelve families located just below the ''duodecim nobiliorum proles Venetiarum''. They were therefore one of the most important families already in ancient times, and maintained this prestige until the

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

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 ...

. The first records date back to the 10th century when they appeared in the public life of the Duchy of Venice giving some ''maggiorenti'' (the so-called "judges"). However, it will be necessary to wait until the second half of the 13th century to see them fully active in public life.

Notable members

* Marco Bembo (c.1230–1296), politician, diplomat and military man. He was at the head of the crusading squad gathered in

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

Giovanni Dandolo Giovanni Dandolo was the 48th Doge of Venice, elected late in his life on 31 March 1280. He died on 2 November 1289. During his reign, the first Venetian gold ducat was introduced into circulation. Family Dandolo came from a prominent Venetian ...

. While he was

bailo of Constantinople A bailo, also spelled baylo (pl. / ) was a diplomat who oversaw the affairs of the Republic of Venice in Istanbul, Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and was a permanent fixture in the city around 1454. The traumatic outcomes of ...

, he was imprisoned and murdered by the Genoese after Ruggero Morosini attacked their colony of Pera. * Francesco Bembo († post 1427), politician and military man. Captain of the general army in the Po in 1426, he was the architect of the memorable naval action of Cremona against

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Republic of Florenc ...

. * Francesco Bembo († 1416), clergyman. He was primicerius of San Marco and in 1412 opened the process of canonization of

Catherine of Siena Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, ...

, authorizing the preaching in honor of the saint. * Beata Illuminata Bembo († 1493), abbess of the monastery of Corpus Domini in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, wrote ''Specchio d'illuminazione'', biography of Saint Catherine of Bologna, in which she described, among other things, the prodigious events she was present at during the exhumation of the saint. *

Bernardo Bembo Bernardo Bembo (19 October 1433 – 28 May 1519) was a Venetian humanist, diplomat and statesman.Angelo Ventura and Marco Pecoraro"Bembo, Bernardo" in ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Volume 8 (Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 1 ...

(1433–1519), humanist and politician. *

Pietro Bembo Pietro Bembo, (; 20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) was a Venetian scholar, poet, and literary theory, literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the Italian Re ...

(1470–1547), son of Bernardo, cardinal and famous scholar. *

Giovanni Bembo Giovanni Bembo (21 August 1543 – 16 March 1618) was the 92nd Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on 2 December 1615 until his death. His reign is notable for Venetian victories during the War of Gradisca (1617) and for the Bedmar P ...

(1543–1618), doge of Venice from 1615 to his death. * Dardi Bembo (?–?), politician and

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the world of culture, either ...

. Captain of Vicenza in 1580 and

mayor of Treviso The mayor of Treviso is an elected politician who, along with the Treviso's city council, is accountable for the strategic government of Treviso in Veneto, Italy. The current mayor is Mario Conte, a member of the right-wing populist party Lega ...

in 1589, he was known as a translator of

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

. For him

Tiberio Tinelli '' Portrait of Luigi Moli'' Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice. Tiberio Tinelli (1586 – 22 May 1639) was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period, active mainly in his native city of Venice. He trained with Giovanni Contarini, a pu ...

painted a ''Presentazione e disputa al tempio'' and a

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

on canvas with the ''Birth of the Baptist'', the ''Baptist in the Desert'', and the ''Baptism of Christ'' (''Nascita del Battista'', ''il Battista nel Deserto'', ''Battesimo di Cristo''). * Antonia Padoani Bembo (1640–1720), singer and composer at the court of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. *

Giovanni Francesco Bembo Giovanni Francesco Bembo was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cremona, mainly active from 1515 to 1543. He apprenticed with Boccaccio Boccaccino. In 1515, he painted two frescoes: ''Presentation in the Temple'' and an ''Adoration of the Magi'' ...

(1659–1720), clergyman. He was

bishop of Belluno The Diocese of Belluno-Feltre () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the Veneto, northern Italy, organized in its current form in 1986. From 1197 to 1762, and again from 1818 to 1986, the Diocese of Belluno and the Diocese of Felt ...

from 1694 to his death. * Pier Luigi Bembo Salamon (1823–1882), politician. He was senator of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

and

mayor of Venice The Mayor of Venice (Italian: ''sindaco di Venezia'') is an elected politician who, along with the Venice City Council of 36 members, is accountable for the strategic government of the municipality of Venice, Veneto, Italy. The current office hol ...

. Giovanni Bembo.jpg, The doge

Titian - Portrait of Pietro Bembo - WGA22949.jpg, Cardinal

Madonna dell'Orto (Venice) - Chapel St Mauro - Illuminata Bembo.jpg, Blessed Illuminata Bembo Madonna dell'Orto (Venice) - Beato Leone Bembo.jpg, Blessed Leone Bembo

References

{{reflist Bembo family Venetian noble families Republic of Venice families