Francesco Morosini

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Francesco Morosini (1618 – 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War.

Morosini first rose to prominence as Captain-General of the Venetian forces on Crete during the siege of Candia by the Ottoman Empire. He was eventually forced to surrender the city, and was accused of cowardice and treason on his return to Venice; however, he was acquitted after a brief trial.

In 1685, at the outbreak of the Morean War, Morosini took command of a fleet against the Ottomans and sacked Koroni. Over the next several years, he captured most of the Morea with the help of Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck. During the siege of Athens in 1687, his artillery caused great damage to the Parthenon, and he oversaw the looting of many of the surviving sculptures.

In the summer of 1688 Morosini, now having been proclaimed Doge, attacked Negropont, but was unable to capture it, and was forced to return to Venice when plague broke out among his troops. He embarked on a final campaign in 1693, but was again unsuccessful in taking Negropont, and returned to Venice after sacking some minor coastal towns. After his death in 1694, a large marble arch was placed in his honor at the Doge's Palace, while his cat—which Morosini was notably fond of—was embalmed and taken to the Museo Correr.