Cristoforo Moro (1390 – November 10, 1471) was the 67th

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

. He reigned from 1462 to 1471.

Family

The Moro family settled in Venice in the 5th century when Stephanus Maurus, a great-grandson of Maurus, built a church on the island of Murano. Cristoforo was the eleventh person from the family to be elected doge. His

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

was Cristina Sanudo.

Life

After graduating from university, Moro held various public offices. He was the Venetian ambassador to the Popes

Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

and

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

. Saint Bernardino of Siena was said to have prophesied that Moro would one day become doge, and as the fulfillment of a solemn vow Moro had the Church of Saint Giobbe built and dedicated to Bernardino's memory. He bequeathed his fortune to various charitable organizations and foundations, including the Church of Saint Giobbe.

Doge

Moro's reign was marked by the beginning of a long war between Venice and the Turks. In 1463 Pope Pius II sent Moro a consecrated sword with the intention of convincing Venice to join the anti-Turk alliance. The reaction in Venice was initially hesitant as the Republic's main priority was their economic interests. In April 1463, 10 years after the

conquest of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...

, Turkish troops occupied the Venetian fortress of Argos in Greece. The Latin

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ce ...

Cardinal

Johannes Bessarion Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letters ...

traveled to Venice to call on the Republic to join the "defense of the faith"; i.e. join the war against the Turks. That same year a coalition was formed between Venice, Hungary and the Albanian prince

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

with the blessing of the Pope to counter the threat of Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

's aggressive policy of conquest. The coalition succeeded in temporarily halting Turkish expansion; however, the new territorial limits acquired by the Turks in their conquests had by and large been accepted. In 1469 the Venetian fleet commander

Niccolò Canal Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The fe ...

retook the town of

Ainos Ainos may refer to: *Aenus (Thrace), an ancient Greek city in Thrace, near the Aegean coast *Mount Ainos, on the island Cefalonia *Ainu people of Japan {{disambiguation ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, but he was not able to defend the island of Negroponte (

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest ...

), a major granary of Venice, from Turkish attack. Euboea was conquered by the Sultan while inflicting enormous losses on the Venetian forces. The Republic faced further threats from the northern Italian cities who coveted Venetian land, as well as from the French king

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

who was seeking to expand Lombardy at the expense of Venice.

Tomb

Moro's tomb is located in the sanctuary of the Church of Saint Giobbe. The tomb is above ground, covered with a marble tombstone.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moro, Cristoforo 1390 births 1471 deaths 15th-century Doges of Venice Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to the Holy See Medieval Italian diplomats Republic of Venice people of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars 15th-century diplomats