Doge Agostino Barbarigo
(Venice, 3rd June 1419 – Venice, 20th September 1501)
It was the 74th Doge of the Republic of Venice.
It was brought to the power by the new nobility in 1486, following the positive results of the war against Ferrara. In 1495 he took part in the anti-French coalition to expel Charles VIII° from Italy; a success obtained with the Battle of Fornovo.
During his task Venice tried to take some strongholds in Romagna and Puglia and the island of Cyprus was finally annexed to the Venetian Republic (1489).
During his assignment, he gave to St. Mark’s Square some of the main monuments that still characterize it: in 1494 began the construction of the Clock Tower, and in 1495 the wing of “Procuratie Vecchie”.
For his initiative the “Scale dei Giganti”, a project of the brothers Marco and Pietro Lombardo, was built in the Doges’ Palace.
On 1st February 1499 the Doge inaugurated the Clock Tower. The Doge’s statue was placed next to the Lion of St. Mark, the symbol of the city on the top of the tower’s facade.
However, the statue was destroyed by French in 1797, to represent the end of the Republic.
He also commissioned to Giovanni Bellini his brother Marco’s portrait for the Hall of the Major Council (1486-1487) and Pala Barbarigo (1488).
