Giovanni Soranzo

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Giovanni Soranzo
Doge of Venice
In office 1312–1328
Preceded by	Marino Zorzi
Succeeded by	Francesco Dandolo
Personal details
Born	1240
Died	31 December 1328 (Aged 87-88)

Giovanni Soranzo (Latin: Iohannes Superantio born Burano, 1240 - died Venice, 31 December 1328) was a Venetian statesman of the prominent Soranzo family who served as the 51st Doge of Venice. He ascended to the position on 13 July 1312 and served until his death. Soranzo was a member of a noble family; he was married to Franchesina.^[1] In 1310 his son-in-law, Niccolo' Querini was exiled for life from Venice for taking part in Bajamonte Tiepolo's conspiracy to overthrow the state. Soranzo was succeeded as Doge by Francesco Dandolo. He was also an Italian politician, diplomat and admiral.

Biography[edit]

Origin & Family[edit]

Son of Antonio Soranzo, who was procurator of San Marco, he was born around 1245, probably in the parish of Sant'Angelo [it] where his family's residence was located. The year of his birth can be deduced from the chronicle of Gian Giacomo Caroldo, according to which at the time of his appointment as doge he was 67 years old. There is no basis for what is reported by genealogists of the modern era, according to which he was born in Burano in 1240. ^[2]

From his will, drawn up on 8 August 1321, we know that he had married Francesca Molin. From her (or from a previous wife of whom we have no information) he had three sons and three daughters: Marino (married to a certain Caterina), Nicolò (before he died), Antonio known as "Belello", Soranzo (married to Nicolò Querini), Elena (Benedictine in San Giovanni di Torcello) and Fontana (Franciscan in Santa Maria Maggiore).^[2]

Political & Military career[edit]

His political career has been reconstructed thanks to contemporary documents and historiographical sources. However, the existence of some namesake with whom he may have been confused cannot be ruled out.^[2]

Elected several times to the Great Council (1264, 1266 - 68, 1270, 1275, 1281, 1295), he was also mayor of Poreč and during this mandate, he suffered excommunication by the local bishop Boniface, who had pro- Aquileian tendencies. He then sat in the Minor Council and in 1290, after the election of Doge Pietro Gradenigo, he became ducal councillor. He was also mayor in Chioggia ( 1294 ), in Isola d'Istria (end of the century), and in Pula ( 1299 ). In 1300 he participated in a diplomatic mission with Andrea Sanudo to Frederick III of Sicily. He was then count of Zadar in 1301 - 03, ambassador to Egypt and again count of Zadar in 1305 - 07.^[2]

In the last years of the century he became the protagonist of a heroic military enterprise. In the spring of 1296 , during the disastrous war against Genoa, he left Venice at the head of a fleet headed for Constantinople and captured an enemy galley stationed on the Bosphorus . Having freed access to the Black Sea , the squadron joined other Venetian boats and attacked the Ligurian colony of Caffa in Crimea , plundering and destroying several enemy ships. With the arrival of autumn Soranzo withdrew the fleet to Negroponte , entrusting it to Andrea Dandolo , and returned to Venice where he was welcomed with all honors.^[2]

He had different luck a decade later, when he was among the main protagonists of the Ferrara war . Before the start of the conflict, in 1307 , he was sent to Azzo VIII d'Este to offer the help of the Doge Gradenigo against the Papal States . With the death of the marquis, the following year, the Venetians occupied the city and the doge designated Soranzo podestà from November 1308 to March 1309 . Pope Clement V 's reaction was not long in coming and, after having hurled the interdict and excommunication on Venice on 27 March 1309 , he quickly took control of Ferrara. At this point Soranzo was put at the head of a fleet with the aim of reconquering the lower course of the Po , but the undertaking ended in serious failure .^[2]

Despite this, in the same year he obtained the prestigious appointment as procurator of San Marco and became one of the eligible candidates for Gradenigo's succession to the dogate. Meanwhile, the fate of the war had created discontent within the patriciate , which resulted, in June 1310 , in the well-known conspiracy hatched by Baiamonte Tiepolo and Marco Querini (related to Soranzo, since his daughter Soranza had married Nicolò Querini). After the failure of the coup and the death of Querini, it was Soranzo who led the negotiations with Tiepolo so that he would surrender .^[2]

The course of these events did not resolve the problems of domestic and foreign politics. During the last year of Gradenigo's government, Zara rebelled once again, while under his successor Marino Zorzi , doge for less than a year, the issues remained unresolved .^[2]

When Zorzi died on 3 July 1312 , Soranzo represented the most suitable candidate to succeed him, as he was welcome both by the Ghibelline faction loyal to Gradenigo and by the hostile one, and the most suitable for relaxing relations with the Pope. On 13 July he therefore ascended to the ducal throne .^[2]

Dogate[edit]

As first measures, he dealt with resolving the still open war issues. He sent Francesco Dandolo to Avignon to conduct exhausting negotiations, which led on 26 January 1313 to the lifting of the interdict and excommunication and on 17 February to definitive peace (through the bull Decet sedis ), however unfavorable to Venice .

References[edit]