Carlo Aurelio Widmann

[1] The Widmanns [it] were a wealthy merchant family that had been inscribed into the Venetian patriciate in 1646, but its members had not yet risen to the highest offices of the Republic of Venice.

[2] In 1758, however, Carlo Aurelio's maternal uncle became Pope Clement XIII, abruptly catapulting the family to power and influence.

[1] Carlo Aurelio's career was the typical cursus honorum for a Venetian patrician, with naval postings alternating with administrative positions in Venice.

[3] The climax of his career was his appointment to the highest joint civil and military office of provveditore generale da mar in 1794.

Nevertheless, the situation on the Venetian Ionian Islands was so dismal that Widmann not only had to expend his own treasure to cover the needs of the administration, but had to petition the citizenry for funds as well, to which they responded with considerable generosity.