Bartolomeo Gradenigo was the 53rd doge

Doge of Venice

The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...

 of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 from November 7, 1339 until his death.

Biography

Born in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 to an ancient noble family, he was a rich tradesman. Gradenigo devoted to politics very early in his life, acting as podestà

Podestà

Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...

 of Ragusa

Ragusa, Italy

Ragusa is a city and comune in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with around 75,000 inhabitants. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica...

 and Capodistria

Capodistria

Capodistria or Capo d'Istria may refer to:* Giovanni Capo d'Istria or Capodistria, the Italian name of the Greek statesman Ioannis Kapodistrias* Capo d'Istria or Capodistria, the Italian name of the city of Koper...

, as well as procuratore

Prosecutor

The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...

in the capital. He also became soon renowned for his excessive love for luxury. He married three times and had six children.

His short reign was rather peaceful, apart from a revolt in Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 and some Turkish

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 incursions. It was also characterized by some diplomatic moves towards Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

. The most important event was the tempest that struck against Venice on 15 February 1340 and which, according to legend, was pushed back only through the supernatural intercession of St. Mark, St. George and St. Nicholas, brought to the lagoon by a humble fisherman. After the storm had disappeared, the three saints gave the fisherman a ring

Ring of the Fisherman

The Ring of the Fisherman, also known as the Piscatory Ring, Annulus Piscatoris and the Anello Piscatorio , is an official part of the regalia worn by the Pope, who is head of the Catholic Church and successor of Saint Peter, who was a fisherman by trade...

, called "Ring of the Fisherman", which he gifted the doges and since then has been part of the ducal jewelry. In fact, Bartolomeo appears in the painting The Presentation of the Ring

The Presentation of the Ring

The Fisherman Presenting the Ring to Doge Gradenigo is a 1534 oil-on-canvas painting by the Venetian Renaissance painter Paris Bordone. It was painted in Venice for the confraternity of St. Mark’s. The painting treats the legend behind the tempest that struck Venice on 15 February 1340...

by Paris Bordone

Paris Bordone

Paris Bordon was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of mannerist complexity and provincial vigor.-Biography:...

 which shows the fisherman presenting the ring to him.

Sources

• Claudio Rendina, I dogi di Venezia, Newton Compton, Rome, 1984.