Dogaressa ( , , ) was the official title of the wife of the Doge of Venice. The title was unique for Venice: while the heads of the Republic of Genoa were also called Doge, the wives of the Doges of Genoa were not called Dogaressa, nor did they have such a public position.The Dogaressa of Venice, 1200-1500: Wives and Icons
History The first bearer of the title was reportedly Dogaressa Carola in the 800s, and the last was Elisabetta Grimani in the 1790s.
The position of the Dogaressa was regulated by the laws of the Republic, which specified which duties and rights she had, and what was prohibited to her. These rights changed several times during the history of the Republic.
Position Just like the Doge, the Dogaressa was crowned, made a Solemn Entry, and gave a vow of loyalty (promissione ducale) to the republic upon her coronation. The symbols of her rank were a golden veil, and a crown in a similar shape as that of the Doge. Similar to a queen, the Dogaressa was provided with a household of ladies-in-waiting. The coronation of the Dogaressa was abolished during certain periods, as specified below.
Formally, the Dogaressa had no political rights whatsoever, and her task was to participate in the representational life of the republic through the official ceremonies and rituals designed to personify the glory of the state. Thus, she had a very visible public role. She was expected to act as the formal protector of certain guilds and trades, and could, as such, play an important part in the role of these trades within the state: something several Dogaressas are known to have done. Alicia Giustiniani, for example, played an important part in Venetian commerce and business because of this role.
Though the law disallowed any influence over affairs of state to the Dogaressa, some wielded a great deal of influence over such affairs in practice, most notably Felicia Cornaro.
When the Dogaressa became a widow, she was expected to become a nun. However, there was no actual law to require this, and some widowed Dogaressas refused to follow this custom, although doing so was considered scandalous.
Changes in position During the centuries, the regulations around the Dogaressa introduced laws to restrict her rights. In the 13th century, the Dogaressa was banned from receiving dignitaries and making public donations on her own, and in 1342, a law banned her from conducting business affairs of her own.
The coronation ceremony of the Dogaressa did not occur between those of Taddea Michiel in 1478 and Zilia Dandolo in 1556. After the coronation of Morosina Morosini in 1597, the coronation of a Dogaressa was deemed unnecessary by 1645 and the other ceremonies around her were suppressed to a minimum. The last Dogaressa to be crowned was Elisabetta Querini in 1694, after which the ceremony was permanently abolished. After the tenure of Elisabetta Querini, most other ceremonial privileges of the Dogaressa was abolished as well: in 1700, she was no longer permitted to wear a crown or to receive gifts from dignitaries. In 1763, the Solemn Entry was revived by the wish of the Doge for Pisana Cornaro, who was the last Dogaressa to perform it.
List of Dogaressas of Venice 804-811: Carola 811-827: Elena 827-830: Felicita 888-912: Angela Sanudo 942-959: Arcielda Candiano 959-966: Giovanniccia Candiano 966-976: Waldrada of Tuscany 976-978: Felicia Malipiero 979-991: Marina Candiano 991-1009: Maria Candiano 1009-1026: Grimelda of HungaryGiuseppe Gullino, s.v. ORSEOLO, Ottone in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 79 (2013) 1075-1083: Theodora Doukaina Selvo 1084-1096: Cornella Bembo 1096-1102: Felicia Cornaro 1102-1116: Matelda Falier 1116-1130: Alicia Michiel 1130-1144: Adelasa Michiel 1148-1156: Sofia Morosini 1156-1172: Felicita Maria di Boemondo 1172-1178: Cecilia (Froyza) 1192-1205: Felicita BemboHolly S. Hurlburt, The Dogaressa of Venice, 1200-1500: Wife and Icon, New York: Palgrave, Macmillan, 2006, p. 188 1205-1213: Maria Basilio 1213-1229: Constance of Sicily 1229-1240: Maria Storlato 1242-1249: Valdrada of Sicily 1252-1268: Loicia da Prata 1268-1275: Marchesina GhisiHolly S. Hurlburt, The Dogaressa of Venice, 1200-1500: Wife and Icon, New York: Palgrave, Macmillan, 2006, p. 189 1275-1280: Jacobina 1280-1289: Caterina 1289-1310: Tommasina Morosini 1310-1312: Agnese 1312-1329: Franchesina 1329-1339: Elisabetta 1339-1342: Giustina Cappello 1342-1354: Francesca Morosini 1354-1355: Aluycia Gradenigo 1355-1356: Marina Cappello 1361-1365: Maria GiustinianHolly S. Hurlburt, The Dogaressa of Venice, 1200-1500: Wife and Icon, New York: Palgrave, Macmillan, 2006, p. 190 1365-1367: Caterina Corner 1382-1382: Cristina Condulmer 1382-1400: Agnese da Mosto 1400-1413: Marina Galina 1423-1457: Marina Nani 1457-1462: Giovanna Dandolo 1462-1471: Cristina Sanudo 1471-1472: Aliodea Morosini 1473-1474: Contarina Contarini Morosini 1474-1476: Laura Zorzi (erroneously called dogaressa, but died in 1474 before her spouse became doge) 1476-1478: Regina Gradenigo 1478-1479: Taddea Michiel (d. 1479) 1485-1486: Lucia Ruzzini (d. 1496) 1486-1501: Elisabetta Soranzo 1501-1521: Morosina Giustinian di Pancrazio di Marco (erroneously called dogaressa, but died in 1501 before her spouse became doge) 1521-1523: Caterina Loredan 1523-1538: Benedetta Vendramin (erroneously called dogaressa, but died in 1477 before her spouse became doge) 1538-1545: Maria Pasqualigo 1545-1553: Alicia Giustiniani 1556-1559: Zilia Dandolo 1559-1567: Elena Diedo (erroneously called dogaressa, but died before her spouse became doge) 1567-1570: Maria Lucrezia Cappello (erroneously called dogaressa, but died before her spouse became doge) 1570-1572: Loredana Marcello 1577-1578: Cecilia Contarini 1578-1585: Arcangela Canali (often erroneously called dogaressa, but she died in 1566) 1585-1595: Laura Morosini (often erroneously called dogaressa, but she died in 1570) 1595-1606: Morosina Morosini 1618-1623: Elena Barbarigo (often erroneously called dogaressa, but she died in 1614) 1625-1629: Chiara Dolfin (often erroneously called dogaressa, but she died in 1623) 1655-1656: Paolina Loredan 1656-1656: Andriana Priuli (died 1656) 1656-1658: Elisabetta Pisani or Benedetta Pisani (often erroneously called dogaressa, but she died in 1655) 1658-1659: Lucia Barbarigo (predeceased the accession of her husband, who was then secretly married to Maria da Santa Sofia PESARO, Giovanni di Federico Barbierato. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 82 (2015) 1694-1700: Elisabetta Querini 1709-1722: Laura Cornaro 1735-1741: Elena Badoer (often erroneously called dogaressa, she died in 1729Nicolini, F. (1937). L'Europa durante la guerra di successione di Spagna: con particolare riguardo alla cittaʾ e regno di Napoli. Note di cronaca lavorate sugli inediti dispacci degli ambasciatori residenti e consoli veneti. Opera pubblicata sotto gli auspicii del Banco di Napoli.... Italien: Presso la R. Deputazione. s. 470) 1763-1769: Pisana Cornaro 1771-1779: Polissena Contarini Da Mula (married to the son and namesake of the Doge, but filled the role of Dogaressa) 1779-1789: Margherita Dalmet 1789-1792: Elisabetta Grimani
References
Staley, Edgcumbe: The dogaressas of Venice (The wives of the doges), London : T. W. Laurie, 1910