Francesco Loredan

Coin featuring Francesco Loredan, 1754

Francesco Loredan was elected doge on the 18th of March 1752 but the announcement was made on the 6th of April, postponed because of Easter. By this point, the dogal figure had lost nearly all his power and he quickly adapted to this new situation.

One of the biggest issues in domestic politics at the time was the clash between the conservatives and the reformers. The latter wanted to substantially reform the Republic and sought to build internal reforms. The conservative pressure groups were able to block these plans and imprisoned or exiled the reformist leaders, such as Angelo Querini, an important figure of the Venetian Enlightenment. The Doge did not want to show favour to one side or the other, so he remained totally passive and limited his support to making it easier for the winning side, thereby losing his chance to change the fate of the dying republic. By impeding the development of the reformist ideas, he possibly caused the small economic boom which started around 1756 with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War.

Interestingly, the famed author and adventurer Giacomo Casanova was locked in the notorious lead chambers under Francesco Loredan's government in 1755 for suspicious activities, from which he managed his spectacular escape.

The neutrality of the Republic during this time allowed the merchants to trade in huge markets without competitors. The French defeat even allowed Venice to become the biggest market for eastern spices.

Interestingly, in 1752, Francesco offered the Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore as a residence for the ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire, and the first Imperial ambassador to live there was Count Philip Joseph Orsini-Rosenberg.

In 1759, Loredan was awarded the Golden Rose by Pope Clement XIII, becoming the first and only doge to obtain the award.

At one point the Doge, who was old and tired by then, seemed about to die but recovered and lived for another year, until his death on the 19th of May 1762. The funeral took place on May 25th, and he was buried in the basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, in Leonardo Loredan's Dogal tomb.[1] The funeral cost an impressive sum of around 14,000 ducats.

• Golden Rose - 1759