Dogado

Duchy of Venice Dogado (vec)
Domain of the Republic of Venice
697–1797
The Venetian Lagoon, with Mestre marked on the mainland, then (north to south) Murano, Venice and the Lido in the lagoon
Historical era	Middle Ages, Early modern period
• Traditional date of establishment	697
• Fall of the Republic of Venice	16 May 1797
Preceded by Succeeded by Byzantine Empire Provisional Municipality of Venice
Today part of	Italy

The Dogado, or Duchy of Venice, was the metropolitan territory of the Republic of Venice, headed by the Doge. It comprised the city of Venice and the narrow coastal strip from Loreo to Grado, though these borders later extended from Goro to the south, the Polesine and the Padovano to the west, the Trevisano and Friuli to the north and the mouth of the Isonzo to the east.

Apart from Venice, the capital and in practice a city-state of its own, the Dogado was subdivided in nine districts starting at the north: Grado, Caorle, Torcello, Murano, Malamocco, Chioggia, Loreo, Cavarzere and Gambarare (in Mira). In lieu of the earlier tribunes (elected by the people) and gastalds (corresponding with the Doge), during the Republic each district was led by a patrician with the title of podestà, with the exception of Grado, headed by a Count.

It was one of the three subdivisions of the Republic's possessions, the other two being the Stato da Màr (lit. 'State of the Sea'), i.e. Venice's overseas colonies, and the Stato da Terra (lit. 'State of the Land'), i.e. Venice's domains in mainland Italy, the strategic and economic hinterland of the Dogado.

Dogado was the equivalent of Ducato (duchy), the Italian city states that (unlike Venice) had a duke as hereditary head of state.

Bibliography

• Da Mosto, Andrea: L'Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Biblioteca d'Arte editrice, Roma, 1937.
• Mutinelli, Fabio: Lessico Veneto, tipografia Giambattista Andreola, Venezia, 1852.