Domenico Monegario

Who was Domenico Monegario?

Domenico Monegario was the traditional sixth Doge of Venice, elected with the support of the Lombard king Desiderius. However, in order to maintain necessary good relations with Byzantium and the Franks, two tribunes were elected annually to limit ducal power. Domenico came to resent these checks and was removed after eight years.

During his reign, the transformation of the Venetians from fishermen to marine traders happened, with audacious travels as far as the Ionian Islands and the Levant. The art of shipbuilding was improved to make sturdier, faster ships. Venetian wealth increased via trade and the city took on its medieval character it held for the next millennium. When Pope Paul I demanded donations from Venice to the Holy See, the Doge Monegario was deposed, blinded, and exiled: like his two predecessors.

The surname Monegario may derive from monegarium, that is, a friar or monk, or monetarium, that is, a minter.