Lorenzo Tiepolo (died 15 August 1275) was

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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 ...

from 1268 until his death.

Biography

Born in Venice, Lorenzo Tiepolo was the son of Doge Jacopo Tiepolo. Tiepolo demonstrated skill as a commander when, during the

War of Saint Sabas The War of Saint Sabas (1256–1270) was a conflict between the rival Italian maritime republics of Genoa (aided by Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre, John of Arsuf, and the Knights Hospitaller) and Venice (aided by the Count of Jaffa and Asca ...

with

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, he defeated the Genoese at the Battle of Acre in 1258. He served also as a

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

Fano Fano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by pop ...

. In 1262, he took part in the peace negotiation between Venice and Prince William of Villehardouin, whose vassal he was for the islands of Skopelos and

Skyros Skyros (, ), in some historical contexts Romanization of Greek, Latinized Scyros (, ), is an island in Greece. It is the southernmost island of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the island was known as ...

, in the aftermath of the War of the Euboeote Succession. In 1268, after the death of Reniero Zeno, Lorenzo was elected doge on 23 July of that year, with 25 votes out of 41. Although beloved by the population, he attracted the hostility of the Venetian nobility for his

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

towards his sons. The position of ''Cancellier Grande'' ("Great Chancellor") was therefore created to thwart such behaviour. In 1270, a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

was signed with Genoa at

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

, confirming the Venetian predominance in the

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; however, in that same year a war broke out between Venice and a league of Italian cities including

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 ...

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

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Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, Cremona, Recanati, and

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 ...

due to commercial disputes. After an initial setback in 1271, the Venetians were able to regain the upper hand and the terms of peace were favourable to Venice. Under his ''dogado'', in 1273,

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

began his journey to

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. He did not return until 1295. Tiepolo died in Venice in 1275 and was buried with his father in the Dominican church of San Zanipolo.

Family

His first wife was, according to conflicting traditions, "either the daughter of the King of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

or of Bohemund of Brienne, ruler of Rascia". Probably widowed, he married before 1262 his second wife, Marchesina Ghisi, daughter of Geremia Ghisi. pp.43-45 He had two sons from his second marriage, Giacomo and Pietro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiepolo, Lorenzo 1275 deaths 13th-century Doges of Venice Year of birth unknown War of Saint Sabas Burials at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice Lorenzo