Imperial, Francesco Maria

Born in Genoa in 1653 in a family villa in Sampierdaren, near Genoa. Son of Gian Giacomo Imperial and Libya Salvaggio. He studied philosophy, theology and poetry.

He mainly linked his civil service with the magistrate of Corsica, then served as president of the Council of Jurisdiction, the body that regulated relations between the republic and the Church. On behalf of the Doge, he solved the diplomatic question with the bishop of the Diocese of Aqui, part of the Duchy of Savoy.

Senator of the Republic in 1697 and member of the Great Council in 1709-1711.

He was elected by the Doge on September 22, 1711 , the 141st in the history of Genoa, becoming simultaneously the king of Corsica. For the appointment of the Doge, Imperial had to abandon the rights to estates in the district of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi in favor of his brother Enrico and his nephew Giulio. During his reign, the wife of Emperor Charles VI , Empress Elizabeth Christina Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , who was housed in the Doge's family villa in Sampierdaren, paid a visit to Genoa.

His mandate ended on September 22, 1713 , after which he may have continued to hold public office in the government of the Republic. He died in a family villa in Sampierdaren in 1736 and was buried in the church of San Siro.

In 1678, he married Sylvia Centurion Oltremarini.

• Sergio Buonadonna, Mario Mercenaro, Rosso doge. I dogi della Repubblica di Genova dal 1339 al 1797, Genova, De Ferrari Editori, 2007.