Andrea Gritti (17 April 1455 – 28 December 1538) was the Doge of the Venetian Republic from 1523 to 1538, following a distinguished diplomatic and military career. He started out as a successful merchant in Constantinople and transitioned into the position of Bailo, a diplomatic role. He was arrested for espionage but was spared execution thanks to his good relationship with the Ottoman vizier. After being freed from imprisonment, he returned to Venice and began his political career. When the War of the League of Cambrai broke out, despite his lack of experience, he was given a leadership role in the Venetian military, where he excelled. After the war, he was elected Doge, and he held that post until his death.
Early life
Andrea Gritti was born on 17 April 1455 in Bardolino, near Verona. His father, Francesco, son of Triadano Gritti, died soon after, and his mother, Vienna, daughter of Paolo Zane, remarried in 1460 to Giacomo Malipiero, with whom she had two more sons, Paolo and Michele. Andrea had a very close relationship with his half-brothers. Andrea was brought up by his paternal grandfather, receiving his first education at his grandfather's house in Venice, before going on to study at the University of Padua. At the same time he accompanied his grandfather on diplomatic missions to England, France, and Spain.
Merchant in Constantinople
In 1476, he married Benedetta, daughter of Luca Vendramin, but she died the same year while giving birth to their son, Francesco. Widowed, Gritti moved to the Ottoman capital, Constantinople, where he engaged in trade, particularly of cereals, often in partnership with the Genoese merchant Pantaleo Coresi. He enjoyed the guidance of his great-uncle, Battista Gritti, who gave him insight on important officials and traders. Gritti's enterprise was successful and allowed him to live a prosperous life during his almost twenty-year stay in the city. At his home in the quarter of Galata, he lived with a Greek woman, with whom he had four illegitimate sons: Alvise, Giorgio, Lorenzo, and Pietro. He also became a person of prominence in the Italian community of Galata, serving as head of the Venetian community. He also enjoyed a good relationship with the Ottoman grand vizier, Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha, securing from him various accommodations and exemptions in exchange for frequent monetary donations, as well as the esteem of Ahmed Pasha's father-in-law, Sultan Bayezid II.
In 1492, the Venetian Bailo in Constantinople, Girolamo Marcello, was expelled on the charge of espionage. The post remained vacant, and Gritti assumed the task of representing Venice at the Ottoman court. Lacking an official appointment, however, his position was precarious, especially as, with another Ottoman–Venetian conflict looming in 1499, he used his commercial correspondence, sent via Corfu and the Ragusan merchant Nicolò Gondola, to transmit encoded information to the Venetian Senate regarding the movements of the Ottoman navy (referred to as "carpets" in one letter) and troop concentrations. This activity did not remain hidden from the Turks for long, however: after capturing couriers bearing Gritti's letters, in August 1499 he was imprisoned in the Yedikule Fortress, escaping execution only through his friendship with the grand vizier. According to contemporary reports, his imprisonment caused great consternation among his many friends—including Turks—at the Ottoman capital, as well as the many women who were enamoured of him.
Gritti nevertheless spent 32 months in the fortress, along with other Venetian merchants, coming close to death due to the privations of this long imprisonment. He was released after a ransom of 2,400 ducats was paid, and returned to Venice. Gritti played a role in the negotiations and conclusion of the peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire in December 1502, and then took active part in the reception of the Ottoman ambassador Ali Bey and the finalization of the treaty on 20 May 1503. Gritti's experience with the diplomatic customs of the Ottomans led to his being charged with overseeing the final formulation of the treaty's clauses, so as to remove any ambiguities and causes for misinterpretation. Finally, on 22 May, he left Venice with Ali Bey for Constantinople, bearing the draft treaty and a letter from the Doge to the Sultan. After the ratification of the treaty by the Sultan, he returned to Venice, making his report in the Senate on 2 December 1503.