Alvise Loredan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alvise Loredan
Born	1393
Died	6 March 1466
Buried	Church of Santa Maria dei Servi
Noble family	House of Loredan
Spouse(s)	Andriola Negrobon, Isabella Cocco
Father	Giovanni Loredan, Duke of Candia

Alvise Loredan (born 1393 – died 6 March 1466) was a brave nobleman from Venice. He belonged to the important Loredan family. From a young age, he became a captain of a warship called a galley. He was a skilled military leader.

Alvise fought many battles against the Ottomans. These included naval trips to help Thessalonica, joining the Crusade of Varna, and fighting in the early parts of the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479. He also fought in the Wars in Lombardy against the Duchy of Milan. Besides his military career, he held many high government jobs. He served as a governor, a savio del consiglio (a wise council member), and a Procuratore de Supra (a top official) for Saint Mark's Basilica.

Early Life of Alvise Loredan

Alvise Loredan was born in 1393 in Venice. He was the only son of Giovanni Loredan. His father was a governor of Crete. When Alvise was 21, he married Andriola Negrobon. She was from a rich family, but not from the highest noble class.

This marriage led Alvise to try business, but he wasn't very successful. In 1420, his father died. Alvise had to take charge of his family. By 1423, he started working for the Venetian Republic. He became a sopracomito, which means a captain of a war galley. He had to stop this duty for a short time in September 1423 because he became very ill.

Defending Thessalonica

In 1425, Alvise Loredan was again a sopracomito. He served in the fleet that was defending the city of Thessalonica from the Ottoman Empire. In July 1425, the Venetian fleet attacked some Ottoman forts. Alvise led the first attack on a castle near Christopolis (modern Kavala). His attack was pushed back at first.

Later, all the Venetian ships joined forces. They fought for four hours and finally won. They took over the fortress. But the Ottomans soon returned with more soldiers. They took the castle back, capturing or killing the Venetian soldiers inside.

In 1429, Alvise was named captain of a large ship called a cog. This ship was sent to Thessalonica. Alvise's ship played a big role in an attack on the Ottoman naval base at Gallipoli. His ship was supposed to get close to the Ottoman forts and shoot at them. But the attack didn't go as planned, and the Venetians had to retreat.

Alvise captained a ship in the next year's fleet too. In March 1430, they learned that Thessalonica had fallen to the Ottomans. The Venetian commander decided to attack an Ottoman fort in the Dardanelles to get revenge. Alvise's ship, which had large cannons, helped destroy the fort. However, Venice made a peace treaty with the Ottomans in September.

Service in Lombardy and Overseas

In 1431, Venice began its third war against the Duchy of Milan. Alvise was chosen to be captain of a group of ships. Their job was to bother ships from Genoa in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. He even led a landing attack on the Genoese colony of Chios.

In 1432, he became a sopracomito in the fleet in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This meant he served under his famous uncle, Admiral Pietro Loredan. From 1433 to 1434, Alvise held his first civilian job. He was the governor (called podestà) and captain of Belluno. In 1435, he was chosen to lead a trade convoy to "Romania" (lands of the Byzantine Empire and the Black Sea).

From 1436 to 1438, he was a provveditore (a commissioner for civil and military matters) in Bergamo. During this time, a new war started against Milan. But the Milanese army attacked Brescia instead of Bergamo.

Around this time, his first wife died. They had two sons, Francesco and Giovanni. In 1441, Alvise married Isabella Cocco. They had two more sons, Marco and Nicolò. Alvise also moved his home to the island of Giudecca.

Alvise Loredan believed Venice should focus on its sea power. He was wary of Venice expanding its land in Italy. In 1442, he suggested tearing down the forts of Bergamo to show trust to Milan. This idea did not pass. However, he was still voted as admiral of the Gulf for that year. He led operations against pirates near Albania and southern Italy. He also took control of the towns of Zenta (near Split) and Budva. In 1443, Alvise was elected as a Procurator of St Mark's de Supra. This meant he was in charge of the famous Saint Mark's Basilica.

The Crusade of Varna

Alvise Loredan was chosen as Captain General of the Sea in 1443. This was for a new Christian military campaign (a crusade) against the Ottomans. This crusade was led by King Ladislaus III of Poland and Hungary. However, the Venetians didn't do much that year.

In 1444, Alvise was appointed commander of the Venetian and Papal fleets for the crusade. His orders were to stop the Ottoman Sultan, Murad II, from moving his army into Anatolia. But Alvise arrived too late to stop the Sultan. Venice then told him to avoid fighting and try to make a secret deal with the Sultan.

When the Crusader army began its attack, Alvise was told to stop the Ottoman army from returning to Europe. He blocked the Dardanelles. But Sultan Murad found another way to cross the Bosporus north of Constantinople. As a result, the Ottomans won a huge victory at the Battle of Varna in November. Venice then tried to make peace with the Sultan. Alvise spent the next year sailing his fleet in the Aegean Sea. He protected Venice's lands and allies from Ottoman attacks.

Later Career

In late 1445, Alvise Loredan returned to Venice. He then became a savio del consiglio in October 1446. This was an important role in the Venetian government. In 1447, he was chosen as a commissioner for a new war against Milan. But he declined because he was not well.

In March 1447, he went to Rome as part of a group to congratulate the new Pope, Nicholas V. After returning, he was again chosen as a commissioner for the army. He accepted this time, but his health remained poor. He returned to Venice in November.

After a Milanese victory, Alvise was chosen as an ambassador to Francesco Sforza, the Milanese commander. Venice made a deal with Sforza. In exchange for promising him rule over Milan, Sforza became an ally of Venice. Alvise then served briefly in Brescia before returning to Venice.

In July 1449, Alvise was again elected Captain General of the Sea. This was for a war against Alfonso V of Aragon, who claimed the Ionian Islands. Alvise led a fleet of 35 galleys. He attacked Messina and the coasts of Sicily. He had a big success when he forced his way into the harbor of Syracuse and destroyed the ships there. He returned to Venice in November 1449. The conflict ended peacefully in 1450.

In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople, Alvise helped build new war galleys at the Venetian Arsenal. He was again a savio del consiglio from October 1453 to March 1454, and again from October 1454 to March 1455. During these years, he was almost always a savio del consiglio. In 1457, he got permission to leave Venice for four months because of the plague. In 1458, he spoke against the Pope's idea for another crusade against the Ottomans.

First Ottoman–Venetian War and Death

On 4 February 1463, Alvise Loredan was again a savio del consiglio. He was then elected Captain General of the Sea for the new war with the Ottomans in the Morea (Greece). His first orders were to be careful. He was to patrol the Aegean Sea and defend Venetian lands.

However, the situation changed when the Ottomans captured Argos in April. Venice then declared war. Between June and August, Alvise landed an army near Modon and Nauplia. The Venetians quickly recaptured Argos. They also rebuilt the Hexamilion wall at the Isthmus of Corinth and put many cannons on it.

They then tried to capture the fortress of Acrocorinth. The Venetians fought many battles, but they suffered a big defeat in October. Their commander was wounded and died. The Venetians had to stop their attack and retreat to the Hexamilion wall. When more Ottoman soldiers arrived, the Venetians, who were sick with dysentery, left the wall without a fight. The Ottomans destroyed the wall again and moved into the Morea. Argos surrendered and was destroyed. Many towns that had joined Venice went back to the Ottomans.

After the Venetian retreat, Alvise tried to capture Lemnos. He then took his fleet to Negroponte. Alvise asked to return home. The Senate chose Orsotto Giustinian to replace him. Alvise returned to Venice in February 1464. He was later asked to be an envoy to congratulate the new Pope, Paul II, but he refused due to his health.

On 4 September 1465, he was elected Captain General of the Sea for the fourth time. This was for the ongoing war with the Ottomans. Even though he was very ill, he accepted. But his health got worse quickly. On 7 February 1466, Vettore Cappello was chosen to replace him. Alvise Loredan died in Venice on 6 March 1466. He was buried in the Church of Santa Maria dei Servi, Venice [it].

Images for kids

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  The Coat of Arms of the House of Loredan.

See Also

• Siege of Thessalonica (1422–1430)
• Crusade of Varna
• Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479)
• Wars in Lombardy