Antonio Barbaro | |
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Provveditore generale of Dalmatia | |
In office January 1670 –July 1671 | |
Preceded by | Antonio Priuli |
Succeeded by | Giambattista Nani as procuratore commissario,Giorgio Morosini |
Personal details | |
Died | 1679 |
Occupation | Politician |
Antonio Barbaro (1627-1678) [1] ,son of Marc'Antonio, [2] was a Venetian general and governor,a member of the patrician Barbaro family of Venice (now Italy),who held positions in Crete,Dalmatia and Rome. [3] Barbaro lived at a time when Venice had a maritime empire in the Mediterranean.
Barbaro served in Candia (now Heraklion),Crete during the long-lasting Siege of Candia. He was Captain of the Gulf from 1655 to 1656, [2] [3] [4] and in 1667 he became Provveditore generale di Candia . [2] [3] [4]
Barbaro also served in the Balkans;from 1670 he became the provveditore generale of Venetian Dalmatia and Venetian Albania. [2] [3] [4] He was Provveditore general of Zara from 1670 to 1672. [5]
Antonio Barbaro was Podesta of Padua in 1672. [6] In 1676 he served as a ambassador to Rome. [3] [6] He also served as Proveditor general of an army against the Uscocchi,Captain in the Battle of the Dardanelles,and conquered Zara. [2]
When Barbaro died in 1678,he left 30,000 ducats for the rebuilding of the church of Santa Maria Zobenigo,also known as the Santa Maria de Giglio,in Venice. [1] This was done according precise specifications listed in an attachment to Barbaro's will, [1] which also notes that the church is in a good position 'to speak directly to Ca' Morosini'. [1]
The church was originally built around 900 by the Zubenigo family,who died out in 1124. It was rebuilt in a Baroque style by Giuseppe Sardi between 1678 and 1680. [7] [8]
The façade shows has bas-reliefs with plans for the cities Rome,Corfu,Padua,Candia,Spalatro,and Pavia; [9] [1] all places where Barbaro or his brothers held civil or military appointments. [1] Another series of bas-reliefs above the first portray the six naval battles in which the brothers participated. [1] These maps predate the official Venetian cartographic commission of Vincenzo Coronelli by almost a decade. [3]
A statue of Antonio Barbaro is in the middle of the façade. [1] It was damaged by lighning in 1759. [4] Statues of Antonio Barbaro's four brothers flank his,two on each side. . [2] Other statues portray allegorical figures of Hunger,Honor,Virtue,and Wisdom. [10] All of the statues are probably the work of Josse de Corte. [1] The Barbaro coat of arms,as well as the four cardinal virtues are also depicted. [1]
There are no Christian symbols on the façade. [8] John Ruskin condemned the façade as “a manifestation of insolent atheism”. [11] and thought that the poverty of the last members of the Barbaro family was justice for the family having rebuilt the Church as a monument to themselves. [11]
Barbaro was praised by Gabriele d'Annunzio during his declaration in Zara in 1918. [2]