Contarini
Encyclopedia
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...
family, which furnished eight 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...
s to the Republic 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...
, as well as an array of eminent figures of the Church, statecraft, generalship, art, and letters.
Notable members
- Domenico I ContariniDomenico I ContariniDomenico Contarini was the 30th Doge of Venice. His reign lasted from his election following the death of Domenico Flabanico in 1043 until his own death in 1071. During his reign, the Venetians recaptured Zadar and parts of Dalmatia that had been lost to the Kingdom of Croatia in the previous few...
(d. 1071), Doge of VeniceDoge of VeniceThe 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...
1043-71 - Jacopo ContariniJacopo ContariniJacopo Contarini was the 47th Doge of Venice, from 6 September 1275 to his abdication on 6 March 1280.Although he came from one of the most illustrious Venetian families, Contarini was not considered an influential person and he was probably chosen as a compromise between the two major factions...
(1194-1280), Doge of Venice - Andrea ContariniAndrea ContariniAndrea Contarini was doge of Venice from 1367 to 1382. He served as doge during the War of Chioggia, which was fought between the Venetian Republic and the Republic of Genoa....
(died 1382), Doge of Venice - Bartolomeo ContariniBartolomeo ContariniBartolomeo Contarini was a Venetian businessman who married the widowed duchess of Athens Chiara Zorzi in 1453 and governed the duchy in the name of her infant son, Francesco I....
(15th century), governor of the Duchy of AthensDuchy of AthensThe Duchy of Athens was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade, encompassing the regions of Attica and Boeotia, and surviving until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century....
for Francesco I AcciaioliFrancesco I AcciaioliFrancis or Francesco I Acciaioli was the son of Nerio II Acciaioli by his second wife Chiara Zorzi. He succeeded on his father's death in 1451 to the Duchy of Athens under his mother's regency.His mother married the Venetian Bartolomeo Contarini... - Gasparo ContariniGasparo Contarinithumb|240px|Gasparo Contarini.Gasparo Contarini was an Italian diplomat and cardinal. He was one of the first proponents of the dialogue with Protestants, after the Reformation.-Biography:...
(1483-1542), cardinal and diplomat - Paolo and Francesco Contarini, who commissioned the Villa ContariniVilla ContariniVilla Contarini is a patrician villa veneta in Piazzola sul Brenta, province of Padova, northern Italy. The villa is in Baroque style and is backed by a 40 ha park with lakes and alleys....
. - Giovanni ContariniGiovanni ContariniGiovanni Contarini was a Venetian painter of the late Renaissance.Born in Venice Contarini was a contemporary of Palma il Giovane. He was a great student of the works of Tintoretto and Titian and is declared to have been an exact imitator of Titian...
(1549-1605), painter of the Venetian School - Giovanni Matteo ContariniGiovanni Matteo ContariniGiovanni Matteo Contarini was a cartographer, and a member of a prominent Venetian family.Contarini compiled a famous world map that was engraved by Francesco Rosselli that is most often given the date 1506. The Contarini-Rosselli map is the oldest surviving printed map depicting any part of the...
(died 1507), cartographer- Contarini-Rosselli mapContarini-Rosselli mapThe Contarini-Rosselli map of 1506 is the first printed world map showing the New World.The Contarini-Rosselli map was designed by Giovanni Matteo Contarini and engraved by Francesco Rosselli. It is a copper-engraved map and was published in Venice or Florence in 1506...
- Contarini-Rosselli map
- Giacomo Contarini, Venetian mathematician
- Maffio Contarini, (died 1460), Patriarch of VenicePatriarch of VeniceThe Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church...
- Francesco ContariniFrancesco ContariniFrancesco Contarini was the 95th Doge of Venice, reigning from September 8, 1623 until his death fourteen months later.-Background, 1556-1623:...
(1556-1624), Doge of Venice 1623-24 - Nicolò ContariniNicolò ContariniNicolò Contarini , was the 97th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on January 18, 1630 until his death 15 months later...
(1553-1631), Doge of Venice 1630-31 - Carlo ContariniCarlo ContariniCarlo Contarini was the 100th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on March 27, 1655 until his death a little over a year later.-Background 1580-1655:...
(1580-1656), Doge of Venice 1655-56 - Domenico II ContariniDomenico II ContariniDomenico II Contarini was the 104th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on October 16, 1659 until his death.-Background, 1585–1659:...
(1585-1675), Doge of Venice 1659-75 - Alvise ContariniAlvise Contarini (diplomat)Alvise Contarini was an Italian nobleman and diplomat of the Republic of Venice.-Biography:Born in Venice, Alvise Contarini entered the service of the Republic of Venice in 1618, and by 1623, he had risen to such prominence that he was elected to the Grand Council of the Republic.His diplomatic...
(1597-1651), diplomat who represented Venice at the Congress of Münster - Alvise ContariniAlvise ContariniAlvise Contarini was the 106th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on August 26, 1676 until his death seven and a half years later...
(1601–1684), Doge of Venice 1676-84 - Ambrose Contarini
Family
The House of Contarini were one of the oldest founding families of the Venetian Republic, and were and remain through extended family consanguinity present in the VenetoVeneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
’s population, represented in over 20 auxiliary and cadet noble branches that include ranks currently among Europe’s and Great Britain’s sovereign, royal and aristocratic descendants.
960 AD marks the first historically verified documentation of the Contarini. Domenico hailed as the first, Contarini born, Doge
Doge
Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....
. By 1797, when the most recent Doge reigned, the family had produced 8 Doges—many were much loved and revered by the Republic’s sophisticated citizenry—whom had been quite successful at enriching the state’s coffers, culture and worldwide high-status.
Indeed, the Contarini had led, at various points, the Venetian Republic, forward through ever changing ages and commensurate with ample changes in trade, technology, trade: both import and exports, science, religion, art, banking and finance as well as in diplomacy … and war.
A good thing, too, is that many wealthy Venetians, such as the Contarini, enjoyed the many monetary and health benefits wrought of eg. the Spice Trade aka Spice trade
Spice trade
Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes...
, which facilitated longevity, a fundamental requirement for assumption of the role of Doge, since the position mandated that a Doge, “must be an octogenarian who commands health, wealth and wisdom”.
Significant were the numerous geo-political and economic contributions made by generations of the august House of Contarini to the long-lived Venetian Republic.
After all, it pays to consider that the Venetian Republic, in one form or another, lasted as a functioning independent state for over 1500 years!
It was only Napoleon’s march into Venice, which sounded its ignominious demise, registered as a direct assault on its elite aristocratic stalwart families and their assiduously tracked bloodlines contained in the fabled Book of Books aka Venetian Black Nobility
Black Nobility
The Black Nobility are Roman aristocratic families who sided with the Papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on September 20, 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Apostolic Palace, and any nobles subsequently...
, which Napoleon, having had been ill-received by the Venetians, took umbrage and sought malicious revenge by seizing and burning one the most ancient copies of that pedigreed ilk's manuscript, as spite to the aristocracy whom had shunned him.
No less, the Contarini, like many of their Republic’s peers, had already indulged a predilection for building magnificent residential and civic structures. Over time that proved itself a taste that seems to have been hereditary, as evidenced by the sheer volume, high-quality and variety of styles executed over the centuries, which invariably came to bear a uniquely "exuberant Venetian design vocabulary", bearing distinct and unmistakable Eastern European, Near and Far Eastern influences and luxuriousness..
Often, their extant buildings are seen punctuated by ornamental flourishes (often errantly referred to as pre-Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
) ie, design elements that balance at counterpoint, effecting a unifying whole, the austere and understated elegance of a building’s often plainer core element, be it dictated by a predominate shape, material or repetition of decoration treatment(s). That often accounts for the lasting powerful, uncluttered, visual interest and impact made by Venetian
Venetian
Venetian may refer to:*Venetian language, a language spoken in Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Mexico, Istria and Brazil.* Venetian cuisine* Venetian wine*Historical inhabitants of the Republic of Venice...
buildings, no matter how ornate the edifice. Touted by accomplished native sons such as Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
, who was employed by the Contarini and their relatives: he designed several of the most outstanding neo-classical structures in the Veneto’s environs.
Importantly, the latter’s works satisfied his clients, which, full-circle, he had helped to create. Many such works are found to have often favored a minimalist, if neo-classical, dialog among their design elements. A passion for purity of line, scale and proportion were fundamental to and codified in Palladio’s Quattro Libri dell'Architettura aka The Four Books of Architecture, detailing vital points of design interest for architecture and decoration enthusiasts and professionals, and remains used by architecture students even today.
So it can be little surprise that the Contarinis’ sense of self and value was closely linked and entwined with their precious buildings. That oeuvre includes a dazzling array of palaces extant 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...
, Vincenza, Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, and Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
as well the enormous family country seat, the Villa Contarini
Villa Contarini
Villa Contarini is a patrician villa veneta in Piazzola sul Brenta, province of Padova, northern Italy. The villa is in Baroque style and is backed by a 40 ha park with lakes and alleys....
—which contains the family’s immortal crypt, centered in a rural Padua aka Padova (its Italian spelling)—and serves in part as a reminder to onlookers of the family's glorious legacy and contributions to the Venetian Republic, and by extension, to the world.
Like their Villa, what prevails is a central and unified theme, effectively a “structure”, which in the brick and motor, stone and anvil sense, had come to represent the formation of a great mercantile civilization. The Villa's humble home town setting … serves to buttress the area’s agrarian mythos, a very real and essential aspect of the Venetian Republic's long tenure at sustained independence. It very existence signifies the significance of a preserved “terra ferma” aka the Vento, tasked to apt farming, for feeding the Republic … it is one of exuberance and seemingly unfathomable grandeur, yet so tellingly practical beyond its luxury. It encompasses and forms, as if a metaphor itself, its host village’s center, known, tellingly as Piazzola sul Brenta
Piazzola sul Brenta
Piazzola sul Brenta is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 45 km west of Venice and about 15 km northwest of Padua.-Main sights:*Villa Contarini, begun by Andrea Palladio...
: built by descendants of no other than Domenico Contarini.
See also
- Ca' d'OroCa' d'OroCa' d'Oro is a palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, northern Italy. One of the older palazzi, it has always been known as Ca' d'Oro due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls.The Palazzo was built between 1428 and 1430 for the Contarini family, who provided...
, Venice - Palazzo Contarini del BovoloPalazzo Contarini del BovoloThe Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is a small palace in Venice, Italy, best known for the external spiral staircase, with a plethora of arches, known as the Scala Contarini del Bovolo ....
, Venice - Villa ContariniVilla ContariniVilla Contarini is a patrician villa veneta in Piazzola sul Brenta, province of Padova, northern Italy. The villa is in Baroque style and is backed by a 40 ha park with lakes and alleys....
in Piazzola sul BrentaPiazzola sul BrentaPiazzola sul Brenta is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 45 km west of Venice and about 15 km northwest of Padua.-Main sights:*Villa Contarini, begun by Andrea Palladio...
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