History Walks in Venice

Families in the Venetian Nobility

Watercolour of the newly elected doge on a platform carried on the shoulders of workers from the Venetian navy docks - circa 1750

Lists of the houses or noble families of the Republic of Venice.

Families extinct early

The families appear in the earliest centuries of the Venetian state, but became extinct in the Middle Ages, well before the Locking of the Council in 1297.

  1. Candiano
  2. Centranico
  3. Flabanico
  1. Galbaio
  2. Monegario
  3. Orseolo
  1. Partecipazio
  2. Tradonico
  3. Tribuno

Case Vecchie

The Case Vecchie were the noble families accepted as part of the aristocracy before the year 800.

Apostolic families

  1. Badoer
  2. Barozzi
  3. Contarini
  4. Dandolo
  5. Falier
  6. Gradenigo-Dolfin
  7. Memmo
  8. Michiel
  9. Morosini
  10. Polani
  11. Sanudo
  12. Tiepolo

Evangelic families

  1. Bembo
  2. Bragadin
  3. Corner
  4. Giustinian

Other Case Vecchie

  1. Baseggio
  2. Belegno
  3. Gauli
  4. Querini
  5. Salamon
  6. Soranzo
  7. Zane
  8. Zen
  9. Ziani
  10. Zorzi

Members of the Case Vecchie were called longhi (long).

Case Nuove

The Case Nuove are the families which entered the Venetian aristocracy between the year 800 and 1297, when membership of the Greater Council became hereditary.

There were a few additions after the main list, as some noblemen returned from Constantinople or the Levant a bit later.

Members of the Case Nuove were called curti (short).

The initial 133 Case Nuove are listed below.

Those marked by an asterisk * in the list, are the Case Ducali, which are those families which had a member elected doge during the 1400s and 1500s when the case nuove dominated the republic.

  1. Abramo
  2. Acotanto
  3. Agadi
  4. Agnusdio
  5. Agrinal
  6. Albizzo
  7. Amizzo
  8. Arimondo
  9. d’Armer
  10. Avanzago
  11. Baffo
  12. Balbi
  13. Barbarigo *
  14. Barbaro
  15. Barbo
  16. Barison
  17. Basadonna
  18. Belegno
  19. Benedetti
  20. Bernardo
  21. Boldù
  22. Bollani
  23. Bon
  24. Bondumier
  25. Bonomo
  26. Briani
  27. Calbo
  28. da Canal
  29. Cappello
  30. Caravello
  31. Celsi
  32. Civran
  33. Cocco
  34. Coppo
  35. Correr
  36. Costantino
  37. D’Arduin
  38. Da Lezze
  39. Da Mosto
  40. Da Mula
  41. Da Ponte
  42. Da Riva
  43. Dalle Boccole
  44. Diedo
  45. Donadi
  1. Donà *
  2. Duodo
  3. Emo
  4. Erizzo
  5. Fabriciaco
  6. Ferro
  7. Foscari *
  8. Foscarini
  9. Foscolo
  10. Fradello
  11. Gabrieli
  12. Galanti
  13. Gambarin
  14. Ghisi
  15. Grimani *
  16. Grioni
  17. Grisoni
  18. Gritti *
  19. Gussoni
  20. Lando *
  21. Lanzuoli
  22. Lion
  23. Lombardo
  24. Loredan *
  25. Magno
  26. Malipiero *
  27. Manolesso
  28. Marcello *
  29. Marcimano
  30. Marin
  31. Marmora
  32. Massoli
  33. Mastalizi
  34. Mazaman
  35. Mengolo
  36. da Mezzo
  37. Miani
  38. Miegano
  39. Minio
  40. Minotto
  41. Mocenigo *
  42. Molin
  43. Moro *
  44. Muazzo
  1. Mussolino
  2. Nadal
  3. Nani
  4. Navager
  5. Navigroso
  6. Orio
  7. Pasqualigo
  8. Pesaro
  9. Pisani
  10. Pizzamano
  11. Polo
  12. Premarin
  13. Priuli *
  14. Quintavalle
  15. Ruzier
  16. Ruzini
  17. Sagredo
  18. Selvo
  19. Semitecolo
  20. Sesendillo
  21. Signolo
  22. Stanici
  23. Sten
  24. Storladi
  25. Stornello
  26. Surian
  27. Talonico
  28. Tolonigo
  29. Tonisto
  30. Trevisan *
  31. Tron *
  32. Valaresso
  33. Valier
  34. Venier *
  35. Viaro
  36. Vielmo
  37. Vitturi
  38. Volpe
  39. Zaguri
  40. Zancani
  41. Zancaruol
  42. Zantani
  43. Zulian
  44. Zusto

After the Bajamonte Tiepolo conspiracy of 1310, some citizen families were allowed into the Greater Council as a reward for their effort in suppressing the conspiracy.

  1. Addoldo
  2. Agadi
  3. Agrinal
  4. Buoninsegna
  5. Caotorta
  1. Caroso
  2. Dente
  3. Diesello
  4. Ferro
  1. Grisoni
  2. Papaciza
  3. Quintavalle
  4. Vidor

Case Nuovissime

The Case Nuovissime were included in the Greater Council after the War of Chioggia, in 1381. The thirty Venetian families listed below. There are duplicates, where several separate branches of a family were promoted, or a citizen branch of an already aristocratic family.

  1. Calergi
  2. Caresini
  3. Cicogna
  4. Condulmer
  5. Darduin
  6. Darduin
  7. dalle Fornase
  8. Garzoni
  9. Garzoni
  10. Girardi
  1. Lippomano
  2. Longo
  3. da Mezzo
  4. Nani
  5. Negro
  6. Orso
  7. Paruta
  8. Pasqualigo
  9. Penzini
  10. Polo1
  1. da Porto
  2. Renier
  3. Storladi
  4. Tagliapietra
  5. Trevisan
  6. Trevisan
  7. Vendramin *
  8. Vizzamano
  9. Zaccaria
  10. Zusto

The Cavallli family from Verona was also promoted to the Venetian nobility.

Foreign houses

At times, the Republic of Venice awarded the status of nobility to aristocratic families from other states. This was mostly an honorific title, as few of them moved to Venice to participate in the political life of the republic.

  1. Anguissola (Piacenza)
  2. Avogadro (Brescia)
  3. Battaggia (Milano)
  4. Bentivoglio (Bologna)
  5. Benzon di Sant’Agostin (Crema)
  6. Castriota (Albania)
  7. Cernovicchi (Albania)
  8. Codognola (Milano)
  9. Collalto (Treviso)
  10. Colleoni (Bergamo)
  11. Comino (Albania)
  12. Cossazza (Albania)
  13. Di Rossi (Parma)
  1. Gonzaga (Mantova)
  2. Malatesta (Rimini)
  3. Martinengo (Brescia)
  4. Meli (Cremona)
  5. Pallavicino (Parma)
  6. Protti (Vicenza)
  7. Riario (Forlì)
  8. della Rovere (Savona)
  9. Savelli (Roma)
  10. Savorgnan (Friuli)
  11. Spadafora (Sicily)
  12. Terzi (Parma)
  13. dal Verme (Verona)

Case fatte per soldo

Finally, many noble houses were made in the 1600s and 1700s, by paying for the privilege in times of war.

Following the War of Candia (1645–1669), these houses joined the Greater Council.

  1. Albrizzi
  2. Angaran
  3. Antelmi
  4. Ariberti
  5. Barbaran
  6. Belloni
  7. Beregan
  8. Berlendis
  9. Bonfadini
  10. Bonlini
  11. Bonvicini
  12. Bregonzi
  13. Bressa
  14. Cassetti
  15. Catti
  16. Condulmer
  17. Conti
  18. Correggio
  19. Crotta
  20. Dolce
  21. Dondi dell’Orologio
  22. Farsetti
  23. Ferramosca
  24. Ferro
  25. Fini
  1. Flangini
  2. Fonseca
  3. Fonte
  4. Gambara
  5. Ghedini
  6. Gherardini
  7. Giovanelli
  8. Giupponi
  9. Gozzi
  10. Labia
  11. Laghi
  12. Lazzari
  13. Lion Cavazza
  14. Lombria
  15. Lucca
  16. Macarelli
  17. Maffetti
  18. Manin
  19. Martinelli
  20. Medici
  21. Minelli
  22. Mora
  23. Nave
  24. Ottoboni
  25. Papafava
  1. Pasta
  2. Piovene
  3. Poli
  4. Polvaro
  5. Raspi
  6. Ravagnin
  7. Rubini
  8. Sangiantoffetti
  9. Santasoffia
  10. Soderini
  11. Statio
  12. Surian
  13. Tasca
  14. Valmarana
  15. Van Axel
  16. Verdizzotti
  17. Vianol
  18. Widmann
  19. Zacco
  20. Zaguri
  21. Zambelli
  22. Zanardi
  23. Zenobio
  24. Zolio
  25. Zon

Likewise, following the Wars of Morea (1684–1699 and 1714–1718).

  1. Acquisti
  2. Arnaldi
  3. Baglioni
  4. Barzizza
  5. Bellotto
  6. Benzon
  7. Bettoni
  8. Bonlini
  9. Brandolini
  10. Carminati
  11. Castelli
  12. Cavagnis
  13. Celini
  14. Codognola
  15. Contenti
  16. Cottoni
  1. Curti
  2. Fracassetti
  3. Franceschi
  4. Gallo
  5. Gheltoff
  6. Guerra
  7. Grassi
  8. Lin
  9. Manfrotto
  10. Manzoni
  11. Martinengo
  12. Mora
  13. Morelli
  14. Nosadini
  15. Pellizzioli
  16. Pepoli
  1. Persico
  2. Recanati
  3. Redetti
  4. Rezzonico
  5. Rizzi
  6. Romieri
  7. Rota
  8. Sandi
  9. Scroffa
  10. Semenzi
  11. Spinelli
  12. Toderini
  13. Veronese
  14. Vezzi
  15. Zambelli
  16. Zino

Finally, in the second half of the 1700s, numerous families were offered joining the Venetian nobility, but only thirteen families took up the offer. The reason was that the membership of the Greater Council was dwindling, following the dying out of many older noble families,

  1. Borini
  2. Buzzaccarini
  3. Caiselli
  4. Martinengo
  1. Mussatti
  2. Ottolini
  3. Panciera
  4. Pindemonte
  1. Pisani
  2. Spineda
  3. Trento

At the end of the republic, the Greater council only had around 1100 members, down from a high of over 2000.

Notes

  1. This is the Polo family of Marco Polo, who, however, lived half a century earlier. Marco was therefore a citizen, while some of his descendants became nobles. ↩︎

René Seindal

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