Lorenzo Marcello

Lorenzo Marcello (Venice, 1603 – Dardanelles, 26 June 1656) was a Venetian admiral.

He fought against the Papal Navy in 1642-1644 and subsequently participated in the new Turkish-Venetian War of 1645 to 1669. In September 1655, he succeeded Francesco Morosini as the Venetian Captain General of the Sea. From this position he led the combined Venetian-Maltese fleet in battle in the Dardanelles in June 1656. Although he himself lost his life during the battle, it resulted in the greatest Venetian victory since the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

Biography Origins and career He was born to Andrea di Iacopo Marcello (branch of San Polo, residing in San Vidal) and Elena di Girolamo Priuli (branch of San Maurizio). He was the fourth of eight children. Of the four males, it was Giacomo (1593 - 1648) who carried on the family's name, by marrying Lucrezia Bembo and producing offspring with her.

Attracted by the sea since his youth, in 1618 he embarked as a "nobleman" in the galley of the Provveditore dell'armata, Antonio Pisani. After a year of apprenticeship, he embraced a career inn the navy: on March 2, 1625, he was appointed captain (sopracomito) of a galley and on May 7, 1628 he was elected patron dell'Arsenale. On 16 June 1630 he was named captain (governatore) of a ship of the line, and undertook his first military jobs escorting merchant ships to Syria and fighting the Turks in the Aegean and the Cyclades. On 30 April 1634 he was appointed captain of the guard of the Kingdom of Candia and led an intense campaign against the pirates who infested this area, driving them out for good. On September 6, 1637, he was further promoted to captain of the galleys. and smaller ships, which, although not perfectly efficient, counted on trained men and from high morale. the Venetians achieved tremendous success, with dozens of enemy ships captured or destroyed.

It was Lazzaro Mocenigo who brought news of the victory to his homeland, together with the body of Marcello who, after the state funeral, was buried in the family tomb in San Vidal. The family members received numerous rewards and his brother Girolamo received the title of knight of San Marco.

His inheritance, as reported in his testament of 1652, was enjoyed by some religious and welfare institutions, his serfs and relatives, while the bulk of his patrimony (about 75,000 ducats) went to his great-grandchildren, sons of the favorite nephew Andrea.

Honours The Italian Navy have named two submarines after him and the name was also given to an Italian liner (1,413 grt, 234 ft. long) built in the 1920s and sunk in 1943.