Contarini, Alvise

Alvise Contarini was the third son of Niccolo di Bertuzzi Contarini (1563–1648) and Helen di Alvise Mikel and nephew of Francesco Contarini , 95th Venetian Doge, whose reign lasted one year from 1623 to 1624 . Alvise Contarini was not married, but devoted his life to serving the Republic . He was the ambassador of Venice in France , Spain , the Republic of the United Provinces , as well as at the court of the Pope of Rome . The king of France even awarded Contarini with the title of knight .

During his tenure as Savio , Alvise Contarini supported the party of the Grand Council that advocated the continuation of the war for Crete with the Ottoman Empire .

After the death of Nicolo Sagredo on August 14, 1676, it seemed that his successor would be his famous brother Giovanni Sagredo . He quickly provided himself with a vote of thirty out of forty voters. However, his rivals considered that he had achieved this fraudulently, and therefore they rebelled. Concerned about this, the Grand Council chose new voters and, having met on August 26, 1676 , they chose Alviza Contarini as the compromise candidate.

Most of Alvise Contarini’s reign was occupied with festivals and fun, so the Doge had little use of its powers. However, he carried out a serious legal reform at the beginning of his rule. Also then from Crete (then under Ottoman control) many new relics were brought, which were placed in Venetian churches.

During the reign of Contarini, several notable innovations were carried out. On June 25, 1678 , the Venetian mathematician Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman in the world to receive her Ph.D. (from the University of Padua ). And the first coffee shop in Venice opened in 1638 , and soon drinking coffee became very popular.

From the point of view of foreign policy, these were alarming years for Venice. Venetians closely followed the Great Turkish War and the Ottoman Empire , seizing territory from the Habsburg monarchy (including the entire Balkan Peninsula ), was finally stopped by the forces of Jan III Sobieski at the Battle of Vienna on September 12, 1683 . Disputes about joining the war on the side of the Habsburgs were constantly conducted in 1683.

Alvise Contarini died on January 15, 1684, shortly before Venice decided to enter the war, which was the beginning of the Sea War . He was buried in the family chapel of Contarini in the church of San Francesco della Vigna . On the grave of Alviza Contarini is his bust .

• Papadopolia, Nicola . Relazione del congresso di Münster del Cavaliere Alvise Contarini - Venice , 1864 .
• Zanon dal Bo, Angelo . Alvise Contarini mediatore per la repubblica di Venezia nel congresso di Vestfalia (1643—1648) - Lugano , 1971 .
• Haller, Bertram . Alvise Contarini und der Westfälische Friedenskongress in Münster - Ausstellungskatalog Universitätsbibliotek Münster, 1982.

• Benzoni, Gino . Alvise Contarini in Dizionario biografico.
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