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The Tiepolo conspiracy was a conspiracy of disaffected Venetian patricians that led to an attempted coup against the Republic of Venice on the night of 14–15 June 1310. Led by Bajamonte Tiepolo, Marco Querini, and Badoero Badoer, various motives have been attributed to the conspiracy, from personal ambition to a populist reaction to the increasingly exclusive, aristocratic nature of the Venetian polity after the Lockout of the Great Council. The coup failed due to a combination of bad coordination, adverse weather, and loyalist resistance, resulting in the death of Querini and his son, the execution of Badoer, and the permanent exile of Tiepolo and most of his patrician supporters. A policy of public damnation of the participants followed, with the houses of Tiepolo and Querini being torn down and admonitory monuments erected in their place, while a few ordinary citizens who helped in resisting the coup were prominently rewarded. The Council of Ten was established to deal with subversion of the patrician-led regime, initially as a temporary measure, but eventually establishing itself as one of the pillars of the Venetian government.
 Depiction of the armed clashes during the attempted coup, by Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri | |
| Duration | 15 June 1310 |
|---|---|
| Location | Republic of Venice |
| Type | Coup d'état |
| Cause | Rivalries between Venetian nobles, Venetian defeat in the War of Ferrara |
| Organised by | Bajamonte Tiepolo Marco Querini Badoero Badoer |
| Outcome |
|
Background
editDuring the 13th century, the Republic of Venice came increasingly to be dominated by its patrician class, at the expense of the commoners. The main vehicle of patrician authority was the Great Council of Venice, originally elected by a popular assembly, but progressively restricted over the 13th century to a choice by electors, and eventually, in 1297, with the so-called "Lockout" (Serrata), to a small circle of patrician families.[1][2] The Serrata not only served to exclude the commoners from power, but also helped address rivalries among the patrician elites, by enlarging membership to such a degree that the Council could not be dominated by a single faction, and conversely guaranteeing the elites a seat at the table, thus helping Venice avoid the zero-sum factional conflicts plaguing other Italian cities of the time.[3]
Venice itself had experienced such a rivalry in the 13th century between the Tiepolo and Dandolo families and their respective adherents, when Giacomo Tiepolo won election as Doge of Venice in 1229 through a tie-break with Marino Dandolo; the Tiepolo representing the newly prominent families that had risen in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade and the expansion of Venice's commercial and colonial overseas empire, as well as middle-class artisans and guilds, while the Dandolo represented the established old merchant aristocracy.[4] The danger of a Doge allying with the common people spurred the ruling oligarchs to reforms to limit the Doge's power through the six ducal councillors, prohibitions on bearing arms in the Piazza San Marco or the vicinity of the Doge's Palace, and restrictions on the activities of guilds and their members, effectively destroying their political power.[5] The measures also included the creation of an elaborate system for the election of the Doge to prevent the repetition of 1229, although on its very first application in 1268, Giacomo's son Lorenzo Tiepolo was elected; much to the rejoicing of the commoners and the chagrin of the old elites, but to no real political effect.[6][7]
The settlement of the Serrata was challenged by a conspiracy led by the commoner Marino Boccono or Bocho in 1300 against Doge Pietro Gradenigo—who had been responsible for the Serrata—but little detail is known about it other than Boccono and his followers failed and were condemned to death.[8] At least one later source however claims that the Boccono's followers were unhappy at the 1289 election of Gradenigo as Doge rather than Lorenzo Tiepolo's son Giacomo, the commoners' preferred candidate.[7][9] Gradenigo also presided over the disastrous attempt to capture Ferrara in 1308–1309, which led to a papal interdict and resulted in a humiliating retreat for the Republic.[10]
Conspiracy
editIn 1310, a conspiracy was formed against Gradenigo and his government, spearheaded by three patricians: Bajamonte Tiepolo, son of Gradenigo's rival Giacomo and grandson and great-grandson of the two Tiepolo doges, his father-in-law Marco Querini, who had been defeated and scapegoated in the War of Ferrara, and Badoero Badoer.[9][11] They amassed a considerable following: 77 patricians took part from no fewer than 28 families (although the Querini, Tiepolo, Badoer, and Barozzi provided almost half of them), along with 23 clerics and unknown numbers of commoners.[12] The motives of both leaders and followers are unclear, and were likely as diverse as the plot's membership. Querini and Tiepolo had personal grievances, while some of the patricians, including Badoer and the Querini, also had extensive estates in Ferrara and possibly shared opposition to the war. The conspirators from the clergy were likely also driven by opposition to the war that had brought the papal interdict, while the commoners may have been motivated by patronage ties to patricians, opposition to the costly war of which they bore the brunt of losses, or by the image of the Tiepolos as champions of the common folk and Bajamonte as the man to reverse the Serrata once in power.[13]
Aftermath
editReferences
edit- ^ Ravegnani 2017, p. 14.
- ^ Romano 2024, pp. 107, 175–176.
- ^ Romano 2024, pp. 141, 172–174.
- ^ Romano 2024, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Romano 2024, pp. 166–172.
- ^ Romano 2024, pp. 169–171.
- ^ a b Pozza 2019.
- ^ Romano 2024, p. 182.
- ^ a b Romano 2024, pp. 182, 187.
- ^ Romano 2024, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Ravegnani 2017, pp. 15–16.
- ^ Romano 2024, p. 186.
- ^ Romano 2024, p. 187.
Sources
edit- Hazlitt, W. Carew (1860). The Venetian Republic: Its Rise, its Growth, and its Fall, 421–1797. Volume II. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Hazlitt, W. Carew (1860). The Venetian Republic: Its Rise, its Growth, and its Fall, 421–1797. Volume III. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Pozza, Marco (2019). "TIEPOLO, Lorenzo". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 95: Taranto–Togni (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
- Ravegnani, Giorgio (2017). Il traditore di Venezia: Vita di Marino Falier doge (in Italian). Bari and Rome: Editori Laterza. ISBN 978-88-581-2715-5.
- Romano, Dennis (2024). Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19085998-5.
- Rossi, Franco (2002). "GRADENIGO, Pietro". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 58: Gonzales–Graziani (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.