Vital I Michele
Vitale Michiel I. († 1102) was the 33rd Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1096 to 1102.
Family
Michiel The family belonged to the so-called twelve apostolic case vecchie. Vitale Michiel was the first Doge of the family, the two other Doges and twelve procurators and a dogaressa - Taddea Michiel, the wife of the Doge Giovanni Mocenigo - noted. Vitale was married to a woman from the home corner.
The Dogenamt
1095, a year after Vitale Michiels enthronement, Pope Urban II Christendom to crusade against the "infidels " in order to liberate Jerusalem from the hands of the Turks. Venice did not respond to the flaming call of the Pope. When it was realized that the competitors Genoa and Pisa were rewarded for their participation with privileges in the Levant and was feared disadvantages for the Mediterranean trade, the Venetians were active. A fleet of 207 ships was equipped and stabbed in July 1099 under the leadership of Dogensohnes Giovanni Michiel and the Bishop of Olivolo, Enrico Contarini, also the son of a Doge, from the Lido in from the lake. In the first military action of the fleet, however, quickly showed the true interests of the Serenissima: The lie ahead Rhodes - Christian - Pisans were attacked and lost in the battle half of their ships, hundreds Pisans were taken prisoner and the freedmen had to promise not trade in Byzantium to drive.
After wintering in Rhodes we sailed to Jerusalem, which had since been conquered by Godfrey of Bouillon. Because of the failure of the Pisan fleet there were problems with the supply troops, as well as with the control of the conquered Syrian coastline. Therefore, Godfrey of Bouillon was forced to negotiate with the Venetians. These reached for their help invaluable consideration as a private tax -exempt neighborhoods and important trade privileges. Venice's participation in the crusade had been worthwhile for the Serenissima.
According to legend, the Venetian crusaders seized besides still - in Myra or Bari - the bones of St. Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors. For the Saints, the San Nicolo church was built after the return of the fleet on the Lido. Relics procurement on a large scale was part of Venetian politics, serving among others the appreciation of the city as a pilgrimage destination.
In northern Italy, the Doge had a lucky hand also in terms of economic benefits for the Republic. The support of the Countess Matilda of Tuscany in the conquest of Ferrara were rewarded with trading privileges, which led, however, in the wake of tension between Venice on the one hand and the Este and the Papal State on the other.
Vitale Michiel died in the spring of 1102 and was buried in the atrium of San Marco.