Biography
He was born in Venice into a relatively poor family and in his early years he worked as a tradesman, soon becoming one of the most important ones in the city. In 1494 he was created capitano da mar (sea commander-in-chief), a relatively easy task as he had to lead the Venetians operations along the Adriatic coast in a peaceful period. But when in 1499 a new war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire broke out, his lack of experience led to two crushing defeats (Sapienza, 19 August, and Zonchio, six days later).
Grimani risked the death penalty, but this was turned into a mild exile on the island of Cherso. Soon, however, he fled taking refuge in Rome in 1509.
Thanks to the intercession of his sons, he could return in Venice in 1509. His political ties soon gained him important administrative charges and created the basis for his future election as doge (6 July 1521).
Aged by the time he assumed the throne, he led the Republic into the Italian War of 1521, the only ally of Francis I of France that did not abandon him. Following the French defeat at the Battle of Bicocca, however, he grew concerned about the course of the war; but he died in 1523, and it was left to his successor, Andrea Gritti, to achieve a settlement with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
The doge's son, Domenico Grimani, became a cardinal in 1493.
Read more about this topic: Antonio Grimani
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“A great biography should, like the close of a great drama, leave behind it a feeling of serenity. We collect into a small bunch the flowers, the few flowers, which brought sweetness into a life, and present it as an offering to an accomplished destiny. It is the dying refrain of a completed song, the final verse of a finished poem.”
—André Maurois (1885–1967)
“There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He is too many people, if he’s any good.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“The death of Irving, which at any other time would have attracted universal attention, having occurred while these things were transpiring, went almost unobserved. I shall have to read of it in the biography of authors.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)