His grandfather and namesake was Federico Cornaro, the richest man in Venice at the time of his death in 1382.
He left before his term was up in 1455 to join the Ducal Council, but as there is no record of him there it is likely that he died shortly after.
[2] His political inactivity may have resulted from a focus on business, since the Cornaro family derived its wealth from commerce.
He corresponded with Leonardo Giustiniani, Gasparino Barzizza, Francesco Filelfo and Ambrogio Traversari.
Traversari, in a letter to Francesco Barbaro, called him a "most famous youth" and Antonio Baratella [it], in his Policleomenareis, praised him for his learning.