Victorious naval commander briefly ruled La Serenissima
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| Jacopo Tintoretto's portrait of Sebastiano Venier at the Battle of Lepanto |
Sebastiano Venier, who successfully commanded the Venetian
contingent at the Battle of Lepanto, died on this day in 1578 in Venice.
He had been Doge of Venice for less than a year when fire
badly damaged the Doge’s Palace. He died soon afterwards, supposedly as a
result of the distress it had caused him.
Venier was born in Venice around 1496, the son of Moisè
Venier and Elena Donà. He was descended from Pietro Venier, who governed
Cerigo, one of the main Ionian islands off the coast of Greece, which was also
known as Kythira.
Venier worked as a lawyer, although he had no formal
qualifications, and he went on to become an administrator for the Government of
the Republic of Venice. He was married to Cecilia Contarini, who bore him two
sons and a daughter.
Venier was listed as procurator of St Mark’s in 1570, but by
December of the same year, he was capitano generale da mar, the Admiral of the
Venetian fleet, in the new war against the Ottoman Turks.
As the commander of the Venetian contingent at the Battle of
Lepanto in 1571, he helped the Christian League decisively defeat the Turks.
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| The plaque to Sebastiano Venier at his house in Campo Santa Maria Formosa in Venice |
The battle took place in the Gulf of Patras when Ottoman
forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto encountered the
fleet of the Holy League sailing east from Messina in Sicily. The Holy League
was a coalition of European Catholic maritime states, largely financed by
Phillip II of Spain.
The Battle of Lepanto was the last major naval engagement to
be fought almost entirely by rowing vessels and the victory of the Holy League
was of great importance in the future defence of Europe against Ottoman
military expansion.
Venier returned to Venice a hero and, as a popular figure,
was unanimously elected Doge in 1577 at the age of 81.
The Doge’s Palace was in the process of being refurbished in
the aftermath of a fire in 1547 when another fire broke out, damaging the Great
Council Chamber and many works of art.
A heartbroken Venier died a few weeks later on March 3, 1578
and was interred in the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, a traditional burial
place of the doges.
There is a plaque commemorating his memory on the wall of
the Palazzetto Venier in Campo Santa Maria Formosa, not far from St Mark’s.
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| The monument to Sebastiano Venier outside the Basilica of SS Giovanni e Paolo in Venice |
Travel tip:
The Doge’s Palace, where Sebastiano Venier lived during his
brief reign, was the seat of the Government of Venice and the home of the Doge
from the early days of the republic. For centuries this was the only building
in Venice entitled to the name palazzo. The others were merely called Cà, short
for Casa. The current palazzo was built in the 12th century in Venetian Gothic
style, one side looking out over the lagoon, the other side looking out over
the piazzetta that links St Mark’s Square with the waterfront. It opened as a
museum in 1923 and is now run by Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.
Travel tip:
The Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, where Sebastiano
Venier is buried, is referred to by Venetians as San Zanipolo. The church, in
Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in the Castello district, is one of the largest in
Venice. It has the status of a minor basilica and a total of 25 of Venice’s
Doges are buried there.
