Signoria of Venice explained

The Signoria of Venice (Serenissima Signoria) was the supreme body of government of the Republic of Venice. The older Commune of Venice was replaced by the Signoria from 1423 on, being later officially adopted in the Promissione Ducale by Cristoforo Moro (12 May 1462). It constituted a center of power which included the doge's power.

The Signoria can be thought of as the combination of the Doge and the other persons commissioned to collaborate and to rule with him. With the passage of time these functionaries became copartners.

The members of the Signoria of Venice

The Signoria of Venice consisted of:

• the Doge, head of the Republic
• the Minor Council (Minor Consiglio), created in 1175, which was composed of the Doge's 6 advisors.
• the 3 leaders of the Quarantia, the supreme tribunal, created in 1179.

The Doge (from Latin dux "leader") was the chief magistrate in the republics of Venice (until 1797) and Genoa (until 1805).

The Signoria was considered a very important body of government, more important than the Doge himself. The sentence se l'è morto el Doge, non-l'è morta la Signoria (The Doge is dead, but not the Signoria) was ritually said during the ceremonies set for the death of the Doge.^[1]

See also

• Republic of Venice
• The Quarantia
• Major Council
• Minor Council
• Venetian nobility

Bibliography

• Book: Civic Ritual in Renaissance Venice. Edward Wallace Muir Jr.. Edward Wallace Muir Jr.. Princeton University Press. 275. 1986. 0-691-10200-7.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Le origini di Venezia . cadeimiracoli.com . The state of Venice was not wearing any mourning clothes at the death of the doge. It was said that "The Doge is dead, but the Signoria is living" . 9 February 2011 . https://archive.today/20080109110506/http://www.cadeimiracoli.com/news.php?lang=1&id=9 . 9 January 2008.