Pietro Loredan

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Pietro Loredan
Born1372
Captain-General of the Sea, Provveditore
WarsBattle of Modon, Battle of Gallipoli, Battle of Motta and Venetian conquest of Dalmatia, War over Thessalonica, Wars in Lombardy
Spouse(s)Campagnola Vitale Lando di Pietro
ChildrenPolo, Giacomo, Maria
RelationsAlvise Loredan (nephew)
Francesco Barbaro (son-in-law)

Pietro Loredan

Procurator of St Mark's in 1425. In 1423, he contended for the position of Doge of Venice, but lost to his bitter rival Francesco Foscari
; their rivalry was such that when Loredan died, Foscari was suspected of having poisoned him.

Early life and career

Pietro Loredan was born in 1372, in the parish of St. Canciano in

Foscolo, in 1422, but as Campagnola survived her husband and is still mentioned in his will, this is evidently erroneous.[1]

Loredan commanded the galley which, at

Marshal Boucicaut at the Battle of Modon on 7 October 1403.[1]

Military and political career, 1411–1422

Loredan probably continued to serve in the fleet thereafter, until 1411, when he is attested for the first time as fleet commander (

Terraferma), Loredan was a proponent of Venice's maritime orientation.[1]

In October 1412, Loredan was named

Avogador de Comùn (public prosecutor), but again held the post for a short while because on 2 April 1416, he was chosen as captain of the Gulf to lead an expedition to the Ottoman Empire. The Great Council of Venice charged him with conveying Venetian ambassadors to the Sultan, and exhausting peaceful means, but in the event, on 29 May 1416, at the Battle of Gallipoli, Loredan scored a major victory against the Ottoman fleet, destroying or capturing most of its vessels. Loredan himself was wounded in the battle. Despite this success, the conflict was not concluded until November 1419, when a peace treaty was signed following exhaustive negotiations. Nevertheless, on his return to Venice on 8 November 1416, Loredan was feted as a hero.[1][3]

In spring 1417, he was sent as an envoy to

Split, and between September and October he brought the islands of Brač, Korčula, and Hvar under Venetian control.[1] In February 1421, he was sent to the Levant to counter the Genoese Giovanni Ambrogio Spinola, who was raiding Venetian commercial shipping in the area.[1] On is return in summer, he was sent to Friuli as its luogotenente ("Lieutenant", i.e., governor). His selection for the post was probably influenced by the fact that the area had been conquered by his nephew, Francesco Loredan, the previous year.[1]

In 1422, he served again as captain of the muda of Flanders, and was appointed again as ducal councillor. On 3 November, he was present at the registration of his son, Francesco, in the Golden Book, the book containing the names of the nobles eligible for public office.[1]

Contender for the Dogate, 1423

On 4 April 1423, the Doge Tommaso Mocenigo died at a critical juncture: the next Doge would have to make decisions affecting the course of the Republic, particularly regarding the continued expansion in the Terraferma or a reaffirmation of the traditional maritime policy. A successful commander, well educated and a capable orator, Loredan had all the prerequisites necessary for the position, but in the end it was his old rival, Francesco Foscari, who was elected. The two men were fierce rivals, their political differences reinforced by personal relationships. Thus two of Loredan's daughters, Maria and Marina, were married to Francesco Barbaro and Ermolao Donà respectively, both of them opponents of Foscari. Furthermore, when Foscari proposed a marriage between his own daughter and one of Loredan's sons, it was rejected.[1]

Military and political career, 1424–1438

14th-century painting of a light galley, from an icon now at the Byzantine and Christian Museum at Athens

Despite this setback, on 12 January 1424, Loredan was again elected as captain-general of the Gulf, with the task of assisting

Thessalonica, which the Republic had acquired the previous year, by attacking Gallipoli and applying military and diplomatic pressure on the Ottoman Sultan Murad II to recognize Venetian possession of the city. Loredan led his fleet to patrol the Dardanelles from July to October, and fought a number of engagements with the Turks. This prompted the Byzantine emperor to send Loredan a number of holy relics as a token of gratitude.[1][4] Despite Loredan's activities, however, the conflict continued fruitlessly for the Venetians, amidst increasing suffering and discontent for the inhabitants of Thessalonica, until the city was conquered by the Ottomans in March 1430.[5]

In 1425, he was

condottiere Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola in the conquest of Brescia (9–10 August 1426). Loredan remained in the city as rector over the next year. In summer 1427 he repelled a Milanese attack on Brescia, and was one of the driving forces in getting Carmagnola to abandon his dilatory stance and confront the Milanese, leading to the victory of the Battle of Maclodio on 11 October.[1]

Loredan disappears from the sources for the next few years until 1431, when the war between Venice and Milan was renewed. On 28 May, he was appointed as captain-general of the Sea and charged with sailing into the Tyrrhenian Sea, joining with the Florentines, and capturing Genoa, which had joined Visconti. The Venetian fleet gained a major victory over the Genoese at Rapallo on 21 August, but the Venetians failed in their efforts to overthrow the Genoese government. Loredan then led his fleet to winter in Apulia and Corfu. Returning to the Tyrrhenian Sea, he stormed the fortress of Sestri in July, where he was wounded; unable to contribute anything more to the campaign, he returned with his fleet to Venice, where they arrived on 22 October.[1]

Over the next few years, Loredan served alternately as savio del consiglio and ducal councillor for the

Po River. His appearance alone was sufficient to quell a riot by the troops in the Piazza San Marco. Nevertheless, the campaign went badly: Loredan was unable to exercise his accustomed tactics in a river, his actions were dependent on the course of the land campaign, and the climate once again affected his health.[1]

On 23 August 1438, Loredan dictated his last will, and on 21 October, obtained permission to return to Venice, being replaced by Stefano Contarini. He arrived in Venice on October 26, "molto agravato da mal" and died two days later. He was buried in the Monastery of St. Helena (demolished in the

Napoleonic period). His tomb's inscription claimed that he was poisoned by unknown enemies("per insidias hostium veneno sublatus"); popular legend ascribed the deed to the Doge Francesco Foscari.[1] Loredan left behind a series of Commentaries, well-regarded by the contemporary historian (and Loredan's subordinate at Brescia) Flavio Biondo, but now lost.[1]

Notes

Venetian dialect, his name was Pie[t]ro Loredano; in contemporary Greek sources, he is encountered as Πέτρος Λορδᾶς, Λαυρεδάνος, or Λορδάνο.[6]

^ b: At this time, Venice had no standing fleet. Every winter, the standing committees of the Great Council of Venice established the annual orders for the so-called "guard fleet", or "fleet of the Gulf [the Adriatic Sea]". The Great Council then voted on the proposals, the size of the fleet, and the appointment of a captain-general and the galley captains (sopracomiti) for the galleys to be outfitted in Venice. The commanders of the galleys equipped by Venetian colonies were decided by the local colonists.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Gulino 2005.
  2. ^ Stahl 2009.
  3. ^ Setton 1978, pp. 7–8.
  4. ^ Setton 1978, p. 22.
  5. ^ Setton 1978, pp. 21–30.
  6. ^ PLP, 15043. Λορδᾶς Πέτρος.
  7. ^ Stahl 2009, p. 45.

Sources

  • Gulino, Giuseppe (2005). "LOREDAN, Pietro".
    ISBN 978-8-81200032-6
    . Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  • Romano, Dennis (2007). The Likeness of Venice: A Life of Doge Francesco Foscari.
    ISBN 978-0-300-11202-3
    .
  • ISBN 0-87169-127-2
    .
  • Stahl, Alan M. (2009). "Michael of Rhodes: Mariner in Service to Venice". In
    ISBN 978-0-262-12308-2
    .
  • Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Walther, Rainer; Sturm-Schnabl, Katja; Kislinger, Ewald; Leontiadis, Ioannis; Kaplaneres, Sokrates (1976–1996).
    ISBN 3-7001-3003-1
    .
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