PAOLO LUCIO ANAFESTO

'Paoluccio' or 'Paolo Lucio Anafesto' (Latin ''Anafestus Paulucius'' or ''Paulicius'') was the reputed first doge of Venice. A noble of Heraclea, then the primary city of the region, he was elected in 697 as an official over the entire lagoon that surrounded Venice, both to put an end to the conflicts between the various tribunes who until then had governed the various parts, and to coordinate the defence against the Lombards and the Slavs who were encroaching on the settlements. His existence, however, is uncorroborated by any source before the 11th century. He was not probably entirely legendary, but, according to Lord Norwich, is probably a mistake for the exarch of Ravenna Paul, whose ''magister militum'' was coincidentally named Marcellus, the same name as Paoluccio's reputed successor as doge.

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Sources

★ Norwich, John Julius. ''A History of Venice''. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1982.

★ Anonymous. ''Archivo Storico Italiano, Tomo VIII: Cronaca Altinate''. Florence, Italy, 1845.

See also

★ List of Doges of Venice