He ascended into the Dogate on 18 August 1683, and as the doge was also invested in the related biennial office of King of Corsica, and from the beginning had to face the increasingly explosive diplomatic issue with the Kingdom of France of Louis XIV.

A state of tension which soon also aroused the concerns of the Genoese people and of the institutions so much so that, in view of an increasingly possible French attack, in May 1684 the doge Francesco Maria Imperiale Lercari arranged for the birth of a "war junta" composed by eight trusted members, chaired by him, as well as a new defense of the walls and of the territory as, among other things, his predecessors already prepared.

And at a further arrogant claim by the French crown to the Republic of Genoa, the doge himself, and other representatives were forced to go to Versailles on 15 May 1685 to perform an act of "reparation".

The reception in the royal palace was attended to in every detail, respectful of protocol and labels and all to the advantage of the prestige of the French court.

After his mandate ended on 18 August 1685, the eighty-second in two-year succession and the one hundred and twenty-seventh in republican history, he continued to work in public settings and to receive other assignments.