Francesco Dandolo (1278-1339) was the Doge of Venice from 1329 to 1339, succeeding Giovanni Soranzo and preceding Bartolomeo Gradenigo.
Biography[]
Francesco Dandolo was born in 1278 to the powerful House of Dandolo in the Republic of Venice, and he was Venice's ambassador to Pope Clement V and Pope John XXII in Avignon during the Avignon Papacy. One time, he wore a chain around his neck while visiting the Pope in order to convince him to end the excommunication of Venice, and he was nicknamed "The Dog" as a result. In 1329, he became Doge of Venice, skirmishing with the Turks in the Mediterranean Sea and fighting against Mastino II della Scala. Emperor Louis IV of Germany awarded him the city of Mestre during his dispute with the House of Della Scala of Verona, and he allied with Florence, Perugia, Siena, and Bologna to fight against Verona, and he conscripted Venetian men between the ages of 20 and 60 to fight instead of raising a mercenary army. He died in 1339.