Carlo Contarini, 100th doge of Venice

-http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/carlo-contarini_(Dizionario-Biografico)

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Contarini
Carlo Contarini (Venice, July 5, 1580 – Venice, May 1, 1656) was the 100th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on March 27, 1655 until his death a little over a year later.

Background 1580–1655[edit] Carlo Contarini was the son of Elisabetta Morosini and Andrea Contarini; his father died ten days after his birth. He was thus the heir of a large fortune, as well as the Contarini name, so renown in the history of the Republic of Venice. He was married to Pauline Loredan.

In the course of a long and distinguished career, Contarini traversed the cursus honorum of the Venetian Republic, serving as provveditore, savio, rector, and member of the Senate of Venice. In the years immediately prior to his election as Doge, he had almost entirely withdrawn from public life, and he appears to not even have considered becoming a Procurator of San Marco.