Paolo Lucio Anafesto

Who is Paolo Lucio Anafesto?

Paoluccio or Paolo Lucio Anafesto was the reputed first doge of Venice. A noble of Eraclea, then the primary city of the region, he was elected in 697 as an official over the entire lagoon that surrounded Venice, both to put an end to the conflicts between the various tribunes who until then had governed the various parts, and to coordinate the defense against the Lombards and the Slavs who were encroaching on the settlements. However, his existence is uncorroborated by any source before the 11th century.

According to John Julius Norwich, Paolo Lucio Anafesto was actually Exarch Paul. Moreover, Paul's magister militum had the same first name as Paoluccio's reputed successor, Marcellus Tegallianus, casting doubt on the authenticity of that doge as well.