Giovanni I Participazio
Encyclopedia
Giovanni I Participazio (died 837) was the tenth (historical) or twelfth (traditional) 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...

 from the death of his brother in 829 to his arrest and deposition in 836.

His father, Agnello
Agnello Participazio
Agnello Participazio was the tenth or eighth Doge of Venice from 811 to 827...

, had appointed him co-doge while his brother Giustiniano
Giustiniano Participazio
Giustiniano Participazio was the eleventh or ninth Doge of Venice briefly from 825 to his death. His four years on the ducal throne were very eventful...

 was away in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

. When Giustiniano returned, Agnello was deposed and Giovanni, who was part of the pro-Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 faction, exiled to Zara
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

. Giovanni was recalled by his brother from Constantinople in 829 and appointed to succeed him. He was duly elected by the assembly and continued the work of Giustiniano in construction a new basilica for the body of Saint Mark. The rest of his reign was occupied by quarrels and problems, internal and external.

The first problem was the return of Obelerio degli Antenori
Obelerio degli Antenori
Obelerio degli Antenori was the ninth traditional Doge of Venice from 804 to 811. He was the son of Encagilio....

 from Constantinople after twenty years of exile. He disembarked at Vigilia, near Malamocco
Malamocco
Malamocco is one of the three narrow inlets in the enclosing coastal dune bar that connect the Venetian Lagoon with the Adriatic Sea, together with the Lido and Chioggia inlets...

, with a band of followers and laid claim to the dogeship. Malamocco and Vigilia declared for him and both were burned by Giovanni. Obelerio was killed and his head displayed to the people.

A revolt in Venice itself placed one of the tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...

s, Caroso, on the throne for less than six months, during which Giovanni, surprised by the participation of trusted family members in the rebellion, resided in refuge at the court of Lothair
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I was the Emperor of the Romans , co-ruling with his father until 840, and the King of Bavaria , Italy and Middle Francia...

, King of the Lombards
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...

. Soon, the Participazio had removed Caroso and blinded him, recalling Giovanni to Venice. His dictatorial rule provoked an aristocratic reaction, led by the Mastalici, and one night in 836, an ambush was laid at the exit of the church of S. Pietro in Olivolo. They arrested him, tonsured him, and put him in the church at Grado
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....

.

Sources

  • Norwich, John Julius
    John Julius Norwich
    John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...

    . A History of Venice. Alfred A. Knopf
    Alfred A. Knopf
    Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...

    : New York, 1982.
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