Coat of arms of Reniero Zeno Silver Grosso of Doge Raniero Zeno, 1253–1268, Venice. Reniero Zeno () (died 7 July 1268) was the 45th

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 ...

, reigning from 1 January 1253 until his death in 1268.

Life

The first references to Reniero

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

in historical sources describe him as a diplomat in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

for having pushed

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 ...

to avoid paying tributes to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. In 1240 he helped Doge

Jacopo Tiepolo Jacopo Tiepolo (shortly before 1170 – 19 July 1249), also known as Giacomo Tiepolo, was Doge of Venice from 1229 to 1249. He had previously served as the first Venetian Duke of Crete, and two terms as Podestà of Constantinople, twice as gove ...

during the siege of

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 ...

, in 1242 put down a revolt in Zara and in 1244 he was named ''

capitano generale da Mar The Captain General of the Sea () was the wartime commander-in-chief of the Venetian navy. History The post of Captain General of the Sea was filled only during wartime, by election by the Great Council of Venice, usually from one of the members ...

'' (fleet commander) 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 ...

. He was also the ''

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 ...

'' (Chief Magistrate) of numerous Italian cities. After the death of Marino Morosini, Zeno, who was then ''podestà'' of

Fermo Fermo (; ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest huma ...

, was elected Doge with 21 out of 41 votes. In 1256–1259 he, already lifted from the excommunication, helped

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...

and

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 ...

in the war for the

Marca Trevigiana The March of Treviso (, or ) was a medieval territory in Venetia, between the Garda and the Julian March. The territory corresponded roughly to the region around the city of Treviso, including Belluno, Feltre, and Ceneda and the dioceses of ...

against the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...

warlord Ezzelino IV da Romano, whose death resolved the conflict. In the meantime, Venice found itself engaged in a

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

against the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

, its greatest rival in the Mediterranean. The cause of the conflict was the sacking by the Genoese of the Venetian quarter in Tyre. When the future Doge

Lorenzo Tiepolo Lorenzo Tiepolo (died 15 August 1275) was doge of the Republic of Venice 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 o ...

destroyed the Genoese fleet in 1257, Genoa allied with

Michael VIII Palaeologus Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261. Michael VIII was the founder of th ...

, who in 1261 captured

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 ...

, putting an end to the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

and awarding Genoans the privileges formerly held by Venetians. Venice replied by building a large fleet which again defeated the Genoese in Settepozzi in 1263. In 1268 a five-year truce was signed with

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

which restored to the Venetians many of their former priviliegies, establishing an uneasy balance between the two maritime republics, allowing them to compete freely in the Levant. Also, under Zeno's reign a series of 129 law articles were approved which gave Venice a modern maritime legislation. Zeno died in Venice in 1268. His dogaressa was

Loicia da Prata Loicia (Aloicia) da Prata or Alucia da Frata (d. ''after'' 1268) was the Dogaressa Dogaressa ( , , ) was the official title of the wife of the Doge of Venice. The title was unique for Venice: while the heads of the Republic of Genoa were also ...

, described as beautiful and charitable. Staley, Edgcumbe: The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges. London : T. W. Laurie
/ref> He was interred in the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, a traditional burial place of the doges.

References

1268 deaths People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Reniero 13th-century Doges of Venice Year of birth unknown Republic of Venice admirals 13th-century Italian diplomats People of the War of Saint Sabas Burials at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice {{Italy-noble-stub