You may have never heard of the name Andrea Gritti. There is not a soul alive, however, who has not heard of Venice, nor marvelled at her wonder.
Yet that wonder owes a hefty debt to this man, who managed to save Venice from total disaster, and without whom the City of Canals would have been robbed of her golden years and greatest glories.
Lasting 1,100 years, the Republic of Venice remains by far the longest-lived such form of state in Western history. It was a longevity enabled in part by geography, and above all by an extraordinarily strong sense of identity, as well as a government that was remarkably successful in directing private interests towards the benefit of the state. Rising to the top of such a state, therefore, was no mean feat, especially at a time when said state was staring into oblivion.
Yet Andrea Gritti, the 77th Doge of Venice, was a man formed by the rawest of experiences. Exile, imprisonment, war, innumerable brushes with death and cutthroat politicking would all prepare him for the events of 1509, and the nightmare of any patriot — taking command after a military defeat so devastating that the very existence of your country is at stake.
Here is what one of Venice’s greatest Doges can teach you about turning a fragile inheritance into a lasting legacy…
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Eastern Exile
Timestamp: 00:04:11
To say that Andrea Gritti was a man accustomed to hardship would be an understatement. Indeed the prospect of a ‘normal life’ would be torn away from him no sooner than he had become a man. Upon turning 21 he got married, but before the year was out, he would lose both his wife and infant child.
Determined to live beyond this debilitating tragedy, Gritti left Italy to start a new life as a merchant in Constantinople, which had fallen to the Ottoman Turks barely a generation earlier. His charm and silver tongue would see his rapid rise in the Italian community there, earning him the friendship too of the Grand Vizier, and even the respect of the Ottoman Sultan himself.
Yet at the very moment he had made it in business, the rug would be pulled from underneath him once more, when in 1499 he was caught spying for his home country. As war erupted between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, Andrea Gritti steeled himself for a grim ordeal — years in a Turkish dungeon…
The Crucible of Italy
Timestamp: 00:27:30
Employing his wits, and his coin, to escape incarceration at the hands of the Turks, Andrea Gritti would return to Venice as a hero. But not yet as a conquering one.
He would not have to wait long, however, to prove his worth in war as well as in commerce. In 1508, the arrogant and irresponsible foreign policy of his government hurled Venice into the single worst-case scenario a smaller country can face — war with multiple great powers at once, without any allies to count upon.
Buckling under the onslaught of the combined armies of France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, all Venice trembled in fear. On the 14th May 1509, with her army utterly crushed at the Battle of Agnadello, proud Venetians watched helplessly as their country was dismembered before their eyes, and centuries of gains were erased in mere days.
With the end imminent, one ray of confidence shone through — Andrea Gritti, whose fierce patriotism was tempered by his level-headed pragmatism. Where in Constantinople he had needed only to save his life, now he would have to save his entire country. His determination, exceptional organisation, charisma and willingness to embrace creative solutions would hand Venice a lifeline, while earning him the adoration of her people, and envy of her politicians…
Ruling a Republic
Timestamp: 01:01:05
With war having propelled him through the offices of the Venetian Republic, only the final prize remained — the Dogate itself. But many among the Republic’s institutions saw in Gritti a new Caesar, who had to be denied power at all costs.
Upon the death of Doge Leonardo Loredan in 1521, they would succeed in blocking Gritti, and electing one of their own, Antonio Grimani. However, the elderly Grimani would grant them less than two years of respite, before he too died in 1523.
With his last rival bowing out, following furious lobbying by his allies Andrea Gritti secured the last of the votes he needed, and on the 20th May 1523, he was elected the 77th Doge of Venice. Immediately denounced as a “tyrant” to his face, however, Doge Gritti faced an uphill struggle to make a difference within a Republic meticulously designed to blunt any one man’s influence…
Renovatio Urbis
Timestamp: 01:20:52
While sharply constrained by the laws of republican Venice, Andrea Gritti would nevertheless succeed in restoring to his country the one thing she needed — confidence in herself.
Rejecting foreign adventurism, the Doge would embark upon a sweeping program of renovatio urbis, strengthening the Republic’s external defences while the heartland was remodelled into a monumental capital worthy of a rival to Rome. Saint Mark’s would indeed be the laboratory from which a new Venice, rooted in the traditions of the Classical World, would be birthed. In place of brick the palaces and public offices of the City of Canals would gleam with white, before the inspired nobility began to spread this majestic architecture throughout the Venetian home islands, and beyond.
Many among the political classes had feared a Caesar. Venice, however, would get something better. An Augustus, who found his city in ruin and left her a city in glory, while leaving us all a model of inspiration for any man who desires the salvation of his country…
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