Marino Faliero

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Marino Faliero 1285 - 17 April 1355 was the fifty-fifth Doge of Venice, appointed on 11 September 1354. He was sometimes referred to simply as Marin Falier (Venetian rather than standard Italian).

He attempted a coup d'etat in 1355, at the time being Doge himself, but with the intention of declaring himself Prince. This failed action is mostly attributed to a combination of a strong hatred for nobility and his senility (he was in his seventies at the time). He pleaded guilty to all charges and was beheaded and his body mutilated. Ten additional ringleaders were hanged on display from the Doge's Palace on St Mark's Square.

He was condemned to Damnatio Memoriae, and as such his portrait displayed in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio (Hall of the Major Council) in the Doge's Palace was covered over with a black cloth which can still be seen in the hall today.

The story of Marino Faliero's uprising was made into a drama by Lord Byron in 1820 and an opera by Gaetano Donizetti in 1835.

Preceded by Andrea Dandolo

Doge of Venice 1354-1355

Succeeded by Giovanni Gradenigo