Giovanni Francesco Barbarigo

Giovanni Francesco first entered the diplomatic service and was twice sent as representative of the Venetian Republic to the court of King Louis XIV of France.

[1] In 1674 he became Primicerius of the Church of St. Mark at Venice, and the same year, was named Bishop of Verona by Pope Innocent XII.

[2] Devoted to prayer, preaching, personal witness of faith, as practical ideals of action of the Counter-Reformation, he was able to translate and apply with commitment and dedication to his episcopal see.

On every occasion he became a strong supporter of the rights and prerogatives of the Church with regard to power and civil order, defending ecclesiastical immunities with particular attention.

For example, he commissioned the Jesuit scholar Giovanni Saverio Valcavi (1701-1781) with publishing the elegy of his family: Nuraismata vivorum illustrium ex Barabadica Gente in 1732 in Pavia.