Giovanni I Participazio (or ''Particiaco'') (died 837) was the tenth (historical) or twelfth (traditional)
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 ...
from the death of his brother in 829 to his arrest and deposition in 836.
History
His father,
Agnello, had appointed him co-doge while his brother
Giustiniano was away in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. When Giustiniano returned, Agnello was deposed and Giovanni, who was part of the pro-
Frankish faction, was exiled to
Zara (in today's Croatia). Giovanni was recalled by his brother from Constantinople in 829 and appointed to succeed him. He was duly elected by the assembly and continued the work of Giustiniano in the construction of
a new basilica for the body of
Saint 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 Ma ...
. The rest of his reign was occupied by quarrels and problems, internal and external.
The first problem was the return of
Obelerio degli Antenori, Doge of Venice from 804 to 811, from Constantinople after twenty years of exile. He disembarked at
Vigilia, near
Malamocco, with a band of followers and laid claim to the dogeship. Malamocco and Vigilia declared for him and both were burned by Giovanni. Obelerio was killed and his head was displayed to the people.
A revolt in Venice itself placed one of the
tribune
Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...
s, Caroso, on the throne for less than six months, during which Giovanni, surprised by the participation of trusted family members in the rebellion, resided in refuge at the court of
Lothair,
King of the Lombards
The kings of the Lombards or ''reges Langobardorum'' (singular ''rex Langobardorum'') were the monarchs of the Lombard people from the early 6th century until the Lombardic identity became lost in the 9th and 10th centuries. After 774, the kings ...
. Soon, the Participazio had removed Caroso and blinded him, recalling Giovanni to Venice. His dictatorial rule provoked an aristocratic reaction, led by the Mastalici, and one night in 836, an ambush was laid at the exit of the church of S. Pietro in
Olivolo. They arrested him, tonsured him, and put him in the church at
Grado.
Sources
*
Norwich, John Julius. ''A History of Venice''.
Alfred A. Knopf:
New York, 1982.
837 deaths
9th-century Doges of Venice
House of Participazio
Year of birth unknown
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