[1] His dogate was dominated by his attempts to break the circle of political violence which had crippled the city over the past century and to reassert Genoese dominion over the Mediterranean colonies.

As the Grimaldis did not go out at sea to oppose the Republic's galleys,[1] the doge sent the navy to support the island of Chios, then a Genoese colony, which was besieged by Jani Beg, khan of the Golden Horde.

At the beginning of his dogate only the citadel of Bonifacio remained in Genoese hands,[1] the rest of the colony was de facto independent thanks to the support of the Kingdom of Aragon and of the Venetian fleet.

[4] To fund military operations on the island, the Republic of Genoa had to borrow at interest rates of 20% from an association of creditors known as the Compera nuova acquisitionis Corsicæ on 27 December 1347.

[5] On the diplomatic front, Giovanni di Murta tried to appease the tension between Genoa and Venice that followed the assault of the Genoese of Pera on Constantinople, which was perceived by the Venetians as a threat to their domination in the Levant.