MOROSINI, the name of a noble Venetian family. According to the best authorities, Cappellari and Barbaro, there would seem to have been two families of that name, distinguishing themselves by the variation of their shield. The one came from Mantua at the time of Attila’s invasion, and bore or, a fess azure. The other came from Illyria in the 7th century; they bore or, a bend azure. However that may be, nothing authentic is known of the Morosini till we find them settled as one family in Venice during the 8th century. The Morosini belong to the Case Vecchie, or twenty-four families of Venetian nobility who were descended from the tribunes of the confederate islands before Venice became united in one centre at Rialto. The 10th century was a period of danger for the family. They became involved in a blood feud with another noble house, the Caloprini, who were Ghibelline in politics, and relied upon the emperor Otto for support. The Morosini, however, proved the stronger, thanks to their popularity; and the year 991 saw them victorious through the deposition of the doge Memo, who had favoured their enemies. The Morosini engaged in commerce with the East, and in the 14th century two brothers of the family, Alban and Marco, founded a house at Aleppo with branches in Damascus, Beynit, and elsewhere in Syria. The wealth and importance of the family may be gathered from the fact that in 1379 no less than fifty-nine Morosini subscribed towards the fund for carrying on the war of Chioggia. The house of Morosini gave four doges to Venice, and numbered among its honours two royal marriages, two cardinals, twenty-four procurators of St Mark, besides numerous generals of the republic. The Morosini continued to flourish till the opening of the last century, when the family began to ...decline; it is now represented by one surviving member.
Among the more distinguished members of the house must be mentioned Giovanni, who in 982 founded the monastic establishment on S. Giorgio Maggiore after the order of St Benedict; Domenico, doge 1148-1156—in the third year of his reign Pola and Istria, which had rebelled, were reconquered; Marino, doge 1249-1252, during whose reign the Inquisition, in a modified form and under the surveillance of Venetian officers, was introduced into Venice for the first time. In this same century (1290) Tommasina Morosini, the sister of Albertino il Grande, married Stephen, prince of Hungary. Their son Andrew succeeded to the throne, and was directed in his government by his uncle Albertino, on whom he conferred the dukedom of Slavonia and the county of Morlacchia. A cousin of Tommasina, Costanza, married Ladislaus, king of Servia. In 1382 Michele Morosini was elected doge. He had acquired a large fortune and a reputation for astuteness by buying Venetian property while the Genoese were still in Chioggia; and much was expected of him in the restoration of his country’s finance when that war came to an end. But he died the year of his election. Andrea Morosini the historian was born in 1558. He studied at Padua, and on coming of age embarked on public life. He passed through the various offices of state, till in 1618 he was a candidate for the dogeship, but failed to secure it, and died the same year. On the death of the official historian Paolo Paruta, in 1598, Andrea was commissioned by the Council of Ten to continue his work, and received authority to consult the state papers down to 1594. He wrote his history in Latin. It covers from 1521 to 1615, and was first published in Venice, 1623.
Andrea’s other works, of which only the first has been edited, are:— (1) I.'imprese ed espeditioni di Terra Santa e Γacquisto falto dell' Imperio di Costantinopoli dalla Serenissima Republica di Venetia, Venice, 1627; (2) De iis quae Veneta Respublica ad Istriae oras gessit adversus Othonem Federici Imperatoris Jilium, in the Corner-Duodo collection of MSS.; (3) De forma reipublicae Venetae, in the National Library, Paris; (4) Raccolta delie Leggi del Cons. X., in the Archivio Generale at the Frari, Venice; (5) De rebus gestis ac nece Francisci Carmaniolae, in the Corner-Duodo collection. The life of Andrea has been written by Luigi Lollin, bishop of Belluno (1623), by Niccolo Crasso (1621), and by Antonio Palazzoli (1620).
The most distinguished member of the house of Morosini was Francesco, the captain-general of the republic against the Turks and conqueror of the Morea. He was born in 1618. In 1666 he was in command during an unfortunate campaign in Candia. In 1687 he conquered Patras, and so opened the Morea to the Venetian arms. In the following year he was elected doge. After his return to Venice the republic suffered severely in Candia, and though now an old man Francesco took the field again in 1693, but died the next year at Nauplia, seventy-six years of age. A more detailed account of his exploits will be found in the article Venice. Authorities.— Barbaro, Genealogie delle Famiglie Patrizie Venete, MS., das. vii. cod. dccccxxvii., in the Marcian Library, Venice; Cappellari, Campidoglio Veneto, MS., clas. vii. cod. xvii., in the same library; Romanin, Storia documentata di Venezia-; Freschot, La Nobiltd Veneta; Cicogna, Iscrizione Veneziano.
[884 words — estimated reading time: 6 minutes]