Vitale Faliero

from 1084 until his death.

He was a member of a noble Venetian family, probably from Fano. A member of the "minor consiglio" (the council of doge's advisers), he was elected Doge in the revolt that overthrew Domenico Selvo in December 1084, probably spurred by Faliero himself, among others. He is the first Doge whose image is known, being allegedly portrayed next to the high altar of St. Mark's Basilica.

When he acceded the throne, Venice was supporting the Byzantine Empire in the war against the Normans of Robert Guiscard (see Siege of Durazzo). In the spring of 1095, the Venetian fleet obtained at Butrinthos (in modern-day Albania) a large naval victory that avenged the Corfu defeat that had felled Selvo. The reassured prestige of the city is testified by the visit of Emperor Henry IV, to whom it was allied during the Investiture Controversy against the pope, for the consecration of St. Mark's.

During his late reign the city was hit by an earthquake, a seastorm, and a heavy famine.

Faliero died in December 1095. His son Ordelafo became a subsquent Doge.

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*cite book|first=Claudio|last=Rendina|title=I dogi. Storia e segreti|location=Rome|publisher=Newton Compton|year=1989