Lord Mayor Pietro of Istria (740-) was the Marshal of the Republic of Venice and the lord mayor of Istria.
Biography[]
Pietro was born in 740 to the House of Orsoleo, a dynasty of Catholic Italians in the Republic of Venice. The son of Doge Teodato of Venice, Pietro became the heir to the Orsoleo family, and his father appointed him as the marshal of Venice in 770. His wife Anastasia Orsoleo secretly had a hand in his father's assassination by the House of Galbaio, and Pietro became hostile with the Galbaio family due to their killing of his father. In 776, Pietro became Lord Mayor of Istria when the region was seized from the Kingdom of Lombardy, giving him more power; Doge Giovanni of Venice plotted his assassination. On 4 March 782 he was imprisoned for stealing money from the republic after questioning by Giovanni. On 1 May 783 Giovanni refused his foul impulses to hurt him, and on 15 May he decided to release him from prison. Pietro gained a favorable opinion of his lord, and on 29 July he was made the Marshal of Venice, which earned Giovanni the loyalty of Pietro. Pietro soon gained a perfect opinion of his liege, and the Orsoleo and Galbaio clans became allies.