Domenico II. Contarini

Domenico II Contarini (* January 28, 1585; † January 26, 1675 ) was the 104th Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1659 to 1675. During his reign, the final phase of the war that began in 1645 coincided with the Ottoman Empire for supremacy in the Aegean and the possession of Crete.

Family

The Contarini family had the first Doge made ​​in 1042, the seven more followed. Domenico Contarini was the penultimate of the Contarini - Doge.

Life

Domenico came from the family branch of Ronzinetti and was born as the son of Giulio Contarini and Lucrezia Corner. From his marriage with Paula Tron came out later procurator of San Marco Giulio Contarini, the only son. About his wife he was Schwippschwager his predecessor Giovanni Pesaro. Domenico received a good and comprehensive education at the University of Padua. During his professional career he has several influential offices clothed within the administration of the Republic, among other things, he was savio, a member of the Signoria and the Council of Ten and head of the Venetian mint, the Zecca. He was married to Pauline Tron.

The election of the Doge came as a surprise for him: he was already 78 years old and had retired from the business of politics to his estates in the Terraferma. The first years of his term were determined by the conflict with the Turks that ended with the loss of Candia, while the remainder of the term for the Republic was a time of peace. He died at an advanced age, drawn by his age infirmity. He was buried in the family grave of Contarini in the Church of San Benedetto. The bottom grave is located in front of the altar of the church, which has been donated by the family.