Agnello Participazio, doge from 811 until 827, was responsible for moving the capital from Malamocco to the less vulnerable islands of the Rialto. Ludovico Manin, doge from1789 until 1797, was the last doge.

The position of the doge in the Venetian Republic changed very much in the course of its existence. The early doges were autocrats but gradually their individual power was eroded to the point where they were more a figurehead than a real political force.

Helen Job