doge

     

Doge (plural ogi or doges) is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux (as does the English duke and the standard Italian duce), meaning "leader", especially in a military context.

Trivia about doge

  • After taking Venice, Napoleon abolished this title of the ruler of the city
  • This highest civil office of old Venice originated in the 7th century & got its first palace in 814
  • Beginning around 697 A.D., it was the title of the leader of the Venetian Republic
  • For more than 1,000 years, the highest official in Venice held this title, from the Latin for "leader"
  • Ludovico Manin, the last person to hold this office in Venice, was deposed in 1797
  • The golden staircase of this Venetian official's palace was completed in 1558
  • Several members of the Dandolo family held this Venetian job
  • In the 16th century a new one of these was elected by Venetians who were picked by lottery
  • It was the title of the chief magistrate of independent Genoa