Cornaro was a Venetian aristocrat born in Trapezonta Sitia on the island of Crete.
[1] His fiefdom included the villages of Voni, Zofori and Thrapsano[2] in today's prefecture of Heraklion.
In 1591 he founded the Philological Academy of the Weird (L' Accademia degli Stravaganti) in Candia (now Heraklion).
He also wrote History of Crete (Historia Candiana).
His burial took place in the monastery of Saint Francisco in Candia.