Francesco Morosini - The Great Venetian Naval Commander and His Cat Who Went to War

Venice Campanile from Palazzo Ducale - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) Happy Birthday to Francesco Morosini! One of Venice's greatest heroes is 400 years old today, and many of the most important institutions in town will be celebrating throughout the year. Morosini is known for his military campaigns in Greece against the Turks, especially for his victories in the Peloponnese peninsula, and was called Il Peloponnesiaco. He was the Doge of Venice from 1688 until he died on January 16, 1694. Today at Palazzo Ducale the celebratory program was announced to a room full of illustrious folks.

Portrait of Francesco Morosini by Bartomeo Nazari (detail) - Photo: Cat Bauer

Francesco Morosini was born on February 26, 1619 into a noble Venetian family, full of prestigious ancestors, including Giovanni Morosini, who founded the Benedictine Monastery on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in 982, as well as doges and dogaressas.

Morosini's mother died under suspicious circumstances when he was an infant by drowning in the Brenta river while trying to save her husband, who was placed under investigation for her death and eventually absolved. If we want to play armchair psychiatrist, perhaps this is why Morosini was said to be a misogynist who never married. 

Instead, he fell in love with his cat, who was always by his side, including when he went into battle, which was much of the time. He loved his cat so much that he had her embalmed with a mouse between her legs when she died. We know this because the cat still exists. You can see her at Venice's Museum of Natural History (the cat is temporarily at the Correr Museum as part of the popular Francesco Morosoni: The Last Hero of La Serenissa - Between History and Myth

Francesco Morosini: the last Serenissima's hero between history and myth

Visita il Museo Correr

 exhibition that began in February 2019, and keeps getting extended).

Doge Francesco Morosini's Cat - Google Art & Culture

Athens had been under the control of the Ottoman Turks since 1458. As time went on, the Turks began storing gunpowder in the Parthenon and the Propylaea on top of the Acropolis. In 1640, a lightning bolt struck the Propylaea and destroyed it, which should have been a warning that storing gunpowder in sacred structures displeases the gods. On September 26, 1687, when Francesco Morosini and his troops besieged the Acropolis during the Morean War, what Morosini described as a "fortunate shot" hit a powder keg and caused the Parthenon to explode.

Piraeus Lion at Arsenale - Photo: Didier Descouens

Morosini is also famous for looting the ancient (c. 360 BC) Piraeus Lion from the harbor of Athens, which you can see today in front of the Arsenale here in Venice.

Andrea Bellieni, Bruno Buratti, Luigi Brugnaro, Luca Zaia, 

Emanuela Carpani, 

Andrea Romani, Giuseppe Gullino

Photo: Cat Bauer

Many high officials were at the official presentation of the program at Palazzo Ducale today, including President Luca Zaia, Governor of the Veneto Region; General Bruno Buratti, Commander of the Triveneto Guardia di Finanza; Rear Admiral Andrea Romani, Commander of the Istituto di Studi Militari Marittimi e del Presidio Marina Militare di Venezia; and Sindaco Luigi Brugnaro, Mayor of Venice, along with many others.

There will be events celebrating Morosini 400 from now through next year, including concerts, lectures and exhibitions, etc. at the following institutions:

- the Civic Museums Foundation;
- the State Archives, Venice;
- The Veneto Regional Command of the Guardia di Finanza;
- the Military Maritime Studies Institute (Naval Museum in Venice) of the Navy;
- the Military Naval School "Francesco Morosini";
- the Marciana National Library;
- Fondazione Giorgio Cini;
- Querini Stampalia Foundation;
- the Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts;
- the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine Studies and Post;
- the Italian Castle Institute - Section of the Veneto;
- the Conservatory of Music "Benedetto Marcello";
- French Committee for the Safeguarding of Venice.

General Bruno Buratti & Veneto Governor Luca Zaia - Photo: Cat Bauer

One of the most interesting events sounds like it will be an exhibition at Palazzo Corner Mocenigo, Headquarters of the Veneto Regional Command of the Guardia di Finanza in Campo San Polo. Francesco Morosini  in the Wars of Candia and the Morea opens to the public from June to October, when paintings, maps, historical documents and more will be on show.

General Bruno Buratti is the coordinator of the organizing committee, and he gave an amusing and fascinating rundown about Morosini (and his cat) and all the projects at today's ceremony. After his presentation, I had a new appreciation for the enormous amount of power the Republic of Venice once had, and how the decisions of a single man impacted history.

The Correr Museum is the major venue. It conserves the entire historical heritage from Morosoni's palace in Campo Santo Stefano, which is presented in Francesco Morosoni: The Last Hero of La Serenissa - Between History and Myth from June 28 to January 6, 2020. The impressive exhibition is packed with trophies and weapons seized from the Ottomans, personal records, coins, medals -- even his beloved cat. 

Francesco Morosini commemorative stamp

If you go to the Francesco Morosini 1619 - 2019 site there is a category called "Eventi," which tells you (in Italian) the entire program broken down by categories. For his 400th anniversary, Francesco Morosini even gets his own commemorative stamp!

NOTE! The Francesco Morosoni: The Last Hero of La Serenissa - Between History and Myth exhibition has been extended until May 3, 2020. 

SUPER NOTE!!! The exhibition has been extended until November 2021 -- 

SUPER DUPER NOTE!!! The exhibition has been extended into 2022. The only reason I know is because I actually went there in person and asked. 

Go see to the Correr and see the 400-year-old cat.

NOTE: The exhibition finally closed in May 2023, and Morosoni's cat is back home in the Natural History Museum of Venice Giancarlo Ligabue.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog