Andrea Gritti

Andrea Gritti was a successful entrepreneur and diplomat, who besides his business ingenious was also well educated and versed in Latin, Greek, French and Turkish.

Residing in Istanbul, from where he ran his business in grain, Gritti eventually emerged as a bold and effective representative of the Venetian merchant community in the Ottoman Empire.

Gritti didn’t hesitate to use his position in the Ottoman capital to provide useful political and military information to the Signoria. After it was revealed that he was using his commercial correspondence for sending encoded information regarding the movements of the Turkish navy, Gritti was accused of espionage and imprisoned. He managed to escape the execution due to his friendship with the Grand vizier, and after several years he was finally released and able to return to Venice.

When the War of the Cambrai League began, Gritti entered a military service and proved to be a highly successful and brave military strategist as well. In 1523 he was elected doge of the Venetian Republic. As a generous patron of the arts, Andrea helped create Venice's image as a cultural center, but he could not avoid the entrance of Venice in another war against the Ottomans.