The Italian title ''prov ditore'' (plural ''provveditori''; also known in ; ), "he who sees to things" (

overseer Overseer may refer to: Professions *Supervisor or superintendent; one who keeps watch over and directs the work of others *Plantations_in_the_American_South#Overseer, Plantation overseer, often in the context of forced labor or Treatment_of_slaves ...

), was the style of various (but not all) local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire 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 ...

. Like many political appointments, it was often held by

noblemen Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

as a stage in their career, usually for a few years.

Adriatic home territory

*In the

Stato di Terraferma The () or () was the hinterland territories of the Republic of Venice beyond the Adriatic coast in Northeast Italy. They were one of the three subdivisions of the Republic's possessions, the other two being the original '' Dogado'' (Duchy) and ...

, the continental part of northern Italy acquired by Venice, mainly in the 15th century, they were appointed in considerable number as part of a complex hierarchical structure, including territories (the upper level), '' podesterias, capitanatos, vicariatos'', ecclesiastical and private jurisdictions etc.

Overseas territories (Stato da Mar)

Some were Venetian possessions much earlier, but no data on the style of their governors exist; most were lost to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Eastern Adriatic

*On the

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

peninsula, a further territorio (now partly in Slovenia), e.g. Pola (Pula) *Further south, in Dalmatia - cfr. infra * Cattaro (Kotor), see

List of Venetian governors of Kotor This is a list of Venetian governors of Kotor. The governors of Cattaro (modern Kotor) held the titles of ''conte'' (count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative statu ...

Individual Ionian Islands

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

, 1700−1799 *

Cerigo Kythira ( ; ), also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira, is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, although it is dist ...

(Kythera), full style ''castellano e provveditore'', the first part referring to the citadel, cf. infra, 1698−1799 *

Santa Maura Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to ...

(Leucada/Lefkada), 1700−1797 *

Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an area of , and a coastline in ...

(Zakynthos), 1698−1807

Venetian coastal fortresses in continental Greece

* Coron, 1693−1715 * Modon (Methoni), 1697−1715 * Patrasso (Patras), 1687−1715 *

Preveza Preveza (, ) is a city in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza, which is the s ...

, 1721−1791 *

Vonitsa Vonitsa () is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is dominated by a Venetian fortress on a hill. Von ...

, 1719−1797

Provveditore generale

The ''provveditore generale'', or governor-general, was the style of Venetian state officials supervising a whole region of the dogal sway: *

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia () refers to the territories of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated until 1420, ...

(1409−1797) *

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

(1688−1715), seat at

Nauplion Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

Provveditore generale da Mar The () was the most senior peacetime office in the Venetian navy and in charge of governing the Venetian overseas empire. History and functions The was the supreme commander of the Venetian fleet in peacetime. In wartime, he was replaced by the ...

, seat at Corfu *

Provveditore generale di Candia The Realm or Kingdom of Candia (; ; ) or Duchy of Candia (; ; ) was the official name of Crete during the island's period as an Stato da Màr, overseas colony of the Republic of Venice, from the initial Venetian conquest in 1205–1212 to its fal ...

, seat at Candia (

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

)

Special local titles

*On the Ionian island of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, the equivalent Venetian governorship was styled ''

Baili ''Bailo'' or ''baylo'' (plural ''baili'' or ''bayli'') is a Venetian title that derives from the Latin term '' baiulus'', meaning "porter, bearer". In English, it may be translated bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a ...

'' ('Baillif') *Cerigotto (

Antikythera Antikythera ( , ; , ) or Anticythera, known in antiquity as Aigilia (), is a Greek island lying on the edge of the Aegean Sea, between Crete and Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality of Kythira isl ...

) maintained its own feudal rulers, styled ''Moite'', accepting Venetian suzerainty since 1309 *Style not known for the Venetian fortresses in present Greece at

Parga Parga (, , ) is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza in Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on ...

, nor for

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

island *In

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, the governorship was split between a civilian ''

luogotenente The Italian word ''luogotenente'' (; plural ''luogotenenti'') is an etymological parallel to lieutenant, deriving from the Latin ''locum tenens'' "holding a place", i.e. someone who fills a position instead of another, as a substitute or deputy. ...

'' and a military ''capitano''

Later Napoleonic use

Under French rule, Dalmatia was styled a ''provveditorate generale'', or in French ''inspection générale'' in 1808, when it was integrated in the Napoleonic Italian kingdom, with three military subdivisions, Zara (

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

), Spalato (

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, Spalatro), Bouches-du-Cattaro ('mouths of the river

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

'), soon joined be the absorbed

Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...

(Dubrovnik), but on 14 October 1809 abolished and annexed into France's

Illyrian provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...

References

WorldStatesmen
{{Republic of Venice Gubernatorial titles Government of the Republic of Venice