Pietro Malombra Audience of the Spanish ambassador in Venice

The Full College () was the main executive body of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, overseeing day-to-day governance and preparing the agenda for the

Venetian Senate The Senate (), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, ), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or less likely shortly before that date. ...

Composition

The Full College comprised the

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 ...

and the rest of the Signoria—the six ducal councillors and the three heads of the Council of Forty—as well as three sets of ('sages'), boards with particular responsibilities: the six , the five (responsible for financial and military affairs), and the (responsible for maritime matters). As with other higher magistracies of Venice, restrictions were placed on the eligibility to the office for the : the members were elected from the

, served a term of six months, and could not be re-elected to the same office for three or six months thereafter. To ensure continuity, the appointments to the office of were staggered, with six-month tenures beginning on 1 October, 1 January, 1 April, and 1 July.

Functions

The College met daily, under the presidency of the Doge, but with the setting its agenda. The council read reports and dispatches, gave audience to foreign envoys, and prepared all issues to come to a vote before the Senate. On its own discretion, particularly on pressing matters of finance or foreign affairs, the College could instead send motions to be voted by the

Council of Ten The Council of Ten (; ), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...

. The College had the authority to dispose of public funds to the sum of 25

gold ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the Late Middle Ages, later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin (coin), sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice ...

s in total. Along with the board of the , the College was also responsible for relations with the Church, including the reception of bishops and prelates visiting Venice. It adjudicated in matters of Church benefits and patronages, the privileges of the Republic's subject cities, and the duties of the salt tax (). The power of the College rose from 1526 on, when it received the privilege of withholding from the Senate any acts it deemed as necessary to be kept secret. Along with the College also received the authority to issue decrees when the Senate was not in session, as well as to suspend decrees of the Great Council (provided that this measure was justified during the council's next session), by the 18th century the College became the most influential institution of the Republic.

References

Sources

* * * {{Republic of Venice topics Government of the Republic of Venice