Andrea Dandolo

Andrea Dandolo (1306 – 7 September 1354) was elected the 54th doge of Venice in 1343, replacing Bartolomeo Gradenigo who died in late 1342.

To St Mark's Basilica he added the Chapel of San Isidoro, oversaw changes to the Pala d'Oro and expanded and beautified the Baptistery.

He was a friend of Petrarch's, who wrote of Dandolo that he was "a just man, incorruptible, full of ardor and love for his country, erudite, eloquent, wise, affable and humane".

[1] His reign was beset by challenges as Venice was struck by a violent earthquake on 25 January 1348 that caused hundreds of casualties, destroyed numerous buildings and, it was assumed at the time, provoked the terrible outbreak of the Black Death, which did not end until 1350.

Allied with the Hungarians, Genoa deployed a powerful naval fleet to the Adriatic under the command of Paganino Doria that devastated the Venetian territories and threatened Venice herself.

Andrea Dandolo's coat of arms.