Francesco Dandolo was the 52nd Doge of Venice

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...

. He ruled from 1329 to 1339. During his reign Venice began its policy of extending its territory on the Italian mainland.

Family

The Dandolo family played an important role in Venetian history from the 12th to the 15th century. Historical references to the family as far back as the 11th century, however the family is not considered to be one of the so-called old families (case vecchie) of Venice; the family does not appear on the list of the founding families of Venice. Besides Francesco Dandolo, three other members of the family became doge: Giovanni Dandolo

Giovanni Dandolo

Giovanni Dandolo was the 48th Doge of Venice, elected on 31 March 1280, died on 2 November 1289. During his reign the first Venetian gold ducat was introduced into circulation.-Family:...

, Andrea Dandolo

Andrea Dandolo

Andrea Dandolo was elected the 54th doge of Venice in 1343, replacing Bartolomeo Gradenigo who died in late 1342....

 and Enrico Dandolo

Enrico Dandolo

Enrico Dandolo — anglicised as Henry Dandolo and Latinized as Henricus Dandulus — was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1195 until his death...

. Two women from the family married doges: Giovanna Dandolo with Pasqual Malipiero and Zilia Dandolo with Lorenzo Priuli

Lorenzo Priuli

Lorenzo Priuli was the 82nd Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1556 to 1559....

.

Life

Dandolo was one of the most successful Venetian diplomats. He was the Venetian Ambassador to the popes Pope Clement V

Pope Clement V

Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...

 and Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...

 in Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

, which at that time hosted the papal residence. Dandolo was nicknamed cane (dog) after an incident in which he presented himself to the pope wearing a chain around his neck in an attempt to get the pope to revoke the excommunication of Venice. Dandolo was married to Eisabetta Contarini and had three children.

Doge

During his reign Venice had many skirmishes with the Turks who would rival Venice for domination of the eastern Mediterranean over the next several centuries.

Venice also engaged in violent confrontations with the Lord of 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...

 Mastino II della Scala

Mastino II della Scala

Mastino II della Scala was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of northern Italy.He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his brother Alberto II were associated in the rule of Verona. Soon, however, Mastino's...

 who continued the territorial politics of his uncle Cangrande I della Scala

Cangrande I della Scala

Cangrande della Scala was an Italian nobleman, the most celebrated of the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1277 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante Alighieri, Cangrande was in his own day chiefly acclaimed as a successful warrior and autocrat...

 with the same aggressiveness. The Venetian-occupied cities of Feltre

Feltre

Feltre is a town and comune of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about 4 km from its junction with the Piave, and 20 km southwest from Belluno...

, Belluno

Belluno

Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...

 und Vicenza

Vicenza

Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 were threated by the Veronese but Venice did not react until the Veronese began to control the flow of river trade and tried to set up a trading base in Chioggia

Chioggia

Chioggia is a coastal town and comune of the province of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy.-Geography:...

. An alliance was formed between the cities of Venice, Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Perugia

Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....

, Siena

Siena

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

, and Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 in order to counter the threat from Verona.

In contrast to the usual practice of that time, Venice did not hire an army of mercenaries but instead conscripted its citizens between the ages of 20 and 60 for military service. With this method Venice was able to field an army of 40,000. The battles took place on the entire territory of the Scaliger, with varying results for both sides. Eventually, however, Mastino was defeated. In March, 1337 both sides came to a peace agreement after lengthy negotiations that allowed the soldiers to return to their cities and recover their land. Venice received guarantees of free trade for the affected areas.

Mastino, unhappy with the terms of the peace agreement, called upon Emperor Louis IV

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....

 for help as a mediator, but the emperor sided with the doge and awarded Venice the rights to the city of Mestre

Mestre

Mestre is a city part of the comune of Venice, in Veneto, northern Italy.The city is connected to Venice by a large rail and road bridge, called Ponte della Libertà ....

. On January 24, 1339 the peace agreement was sealed in Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice. Treviso

Treviso

Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

 now came under the control of Venice, Florence received some castles but not the city of Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

, which caused resentment in Florence and became one of the causes for the subsequent tensions between Venice and Florence.

Dandolo died on All Saints' Day in 1339. He was interred in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. One of the greatest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. It stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district...

.