Priuli, Antonio

Early life

From his youth, Antonio devoted himself to military service, served in the Navy, and he was very religious. He married Elena Barbarigo, who gave birth to 14 children (including Matteo, the future cardinal of the Catholic Church), whose maintenance led to the formation of burdensome debts from the Priuli family. In 1614, he was appointed mayor of Azola . During the accelerated war, Priuli was the commissar of the arsenal of the Republic. As a result, by the time of his death, Nicolo Donato Priuli had so well established himself in the public service that he was the main candidate for the doge.

Doge

May 17, 1618 , just a few days after the death of Donato, Priuli was unanimously elected by the Doge. The situation in the country was very serious: the Spanish mercenaries, led by Ambassador Marquis Bedmar (see the Bedmar conspiracy ), landed in Venice, the corrupt military was preparing to carry out a coup. The Doge acted decisively and arrested and executed (possibly in some cases unfairly) the soldiers and sailors suspected of conspiracy. Between 1618 and 1622, Venice was engulfed in a "spy hunt", which led to many innocent victims.

By a decree of January 16, 1623, the Doge stopped further searches for participants in the conspiracy. Throughout the XVII century, the struggle of Venice with Spain continued, but proceeded without serious outbreaks. At this time, Priuli tried to calm the temperament of the townspeople by organizing festivities and distributing government posts, which adversely affected the state of the treasury. In February 1623 , to the surprise of many, Venice joined the Thirty Years War . The doge, already sick, at this time could not actively participate in the administration of the country. On August 12, 1623, he died.

• Andrea da Mosto . I dogi di Venezia. - Florenz 2003. - ISBN 88-09-02881-3