The House of Cornaro or Corner were a Venetian patrician family in the Republic of Venice and included many Doges and other high officials. The name Corner, originally from the Venetian dialect, was adopted in the eighteenth century. The older standard Italian Cornaro is no longer common in Italian sources referring to earlier members of the family, but remains so in English.
Ca' Corner, one of eight palaces along Venice's Grand Canal commissioned by the Cornaro family.
Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Theresa in the Cornaro family chapel in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome.
Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore, Venice
The Venetian patriciate was one of the three social bodies into which the society of the Republic of Venice was divided, together with citizens and foreigners. Patrizio was the noble title of the members of the aristocracy ruling the city of Venice and the Republic. The title was abbreviated, in front of the name, by the initials N.H., together with the feminine variant N.D.. Holding the title of a Venetian patrician was a great honour and many European kings and princes, as well as foreign noble families, are known to have asked for and obtained the prestigious title.
The Great Council in a voting session at the Doge's Palace, 1648.
Portrait of the Loredan family, by Giovanni Bellini, 1507, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Leonardo Loredan, 75th Doge of Venice, ruled from 1501 until his death in 1521 and was a member of the Loredan family, one of the Republic's most prominent noble houses. His four sons are depicted wearing the typical regalia of Venetian noblemen.
Image: Gianalberto Cardinal Badoer
Image: Carlo Contarini portrait 2
