Savi di Terraferma explained

The Italian: Savii or Italian: Savi di Terraferma was a board of five senior magistrates of the Republic of Venice, initially charged with the defence of the Republic's possessions in the Italian mainland (Italian: [[Domini di Terraferma]]). Gradually they assumed specific roles pertaining to the supervision of public finances (the Italian: Savio Cassier), the military administration (the Italian: Savio alla Scrittura and Italian: Savio alle Ordinanze), state ceremonies (the Italian: Savio ai Ceremoniali), and urgent Italian: ad hoc matters (the Italian: Savio ai da mò).

Establishment

The Italian: Savi di Terraferma were established, as part of the Republic's expansion into the Veneto and Lombardy, and its military confrontation with the Duchy of Milan over hegemony in northern Italy. They were probably the direct descendants of the extraordinary Italian: Savi straordinari alla guerra that were elected in 1412 for the pursuit of the war. In 1432, the Italian: Savi di Terraferma became Italian: ex officio members of the Venetian Senate.

Composition

They were five in number, and sat on the Full College (Italian: Pien Collegio), the Republic's effective cabinet. As with other higher magistracies of Venice, restrictions were placed on the eligibility to the office: the members were elected from the Venetian Senate, served a term of six months, and could not be re-elected to the same office for three months thereafter. To ensure continuity, the appointments to the office of Italian: Savio di Terraferma were staggered: three took office on 1 October, two on 1 January, three on 1 April, and two on 1 July.

Roles

Like all Italian: savi, the office did not carry a salary, but could be held in tandem with other public offices. The roles of each of the Italian: Savi di Terraferma were eventually regularized:

• the Italian: Savio alla Scrittura was analogous to a Minister for War. The post existed since at least 1519, and initially tasked with the payment of military salaries, but by the mid-17th century its powers had been extended to encompass all areas of military administration, apart from the supervision of the militias and those matters under the purview of Italian: ad hoc military committees staffed by patricians holding military commands, to which he acted in an advisory capacity.
• the Italian: Savio Cassier was analogous to a Finance Minister. The post existed as early as 1473, but appears to have lapsed and not revived until 1526, and abolished again in 1539–1543. The Italian: Savio supervised the fiscal officials known as Italian: [[Camerlenghi di Comun|camerlenghi]] and was responsible for public finances, including tax collection. His tenure lasted for a year (after 1543 limited to six months), but all affairs begun under his tenure remained under his purview until completed, even after leaving office.
• the Italian: Savio alle Ordinanze was responsible for the supervision of the militias (Italian: [[cernide]]). Unlike the previous two posts, there was no election specifically on this position, which was given to the one of the three remaining Italian: Savi with the highest number of votes.
• the Italian: Savio ai Ceremoniali was responsible for public ceremonies.
• the Italian: Savio ai da mò was responsible for any other matter voted as urgent (da mò).

Sources

• Book: Brown, Horatio F. . Horatio Brown

. [{{GBurl|Dek7AQAAIAAJ}} Venetian Studies ]. Horatio Brown . London . Kegan Paul, Trench & Co . 1887 . 458907462.

• Book: Venice: A Documentary History, 1450-1630 . David Sanderson . Chambers . Jennifer . Fletcher . Brian . Pullan . University of Toronto Press . 2001 . 978-0-802084248 .
• Book: Da Mosto, Andrea . L'Archivio di Stato di Venezia. Indice Generale, Storico, Descrittivo ed Analitico. Tomo I: Archivi dell' Amministrazione Centrale della Repubblica Veneta e Archivi Notarili . it . Rome . Biblioteca d'arte editrice . 1937 . 772861816 .
• Book: Lane, Frederic Chapin . Frederic C. Lane

. Frederic C. Lane . Venice, A Maritime Republic . Baltimore, Maryland . Johns Hopkins University Press . 1973 . 0-8018-1445-6 .