Francesco Cornaro (doge)

Francesco Cornaro had a prestigious political career.

Cornaro soured on politics after an incident occurred while he was serving as the Ambassador of the Republic of Venice to the Duke of Savoy.

After that, Cornaro withdrew from politics and devoted himself to business.

It was widely believed that he would never be elected as Doge.

However, after the death of Carlo Contarini on 1 May 1656 (a reign that lasted barely more than a year), Cornaro was elected Doge on 17 May 1656, only to die a few weeks later on 5 June 1656.