Nicolò Donà, Doge of Venice

The “podestà e capitano” Nicolò Donà was elected doge of Venice in 1618 and reigned for just thirty-four days. While podestà of Capodistria (1579–80), he promoted the establishment of the Magistrato Supremo d’Appellazione di tutte le sentenze delli Rettori dell’Istria, a court in which sentences passed by the rettori (chief magistrates) of Istrian towns could be appealed. At a time of great want and hunger, he provided stocks of grain and deposited three thousand ducats in the Monte di Pietà, a charitable pawnbroking institution, to save the town from incurring debts with Jewish moneylenders. Notable among his many meritorious actions were his efforts to ensure a constant flow of water to the two wells in the square in front of the Muda Gate. The townspeople commissioned the bronze bust from the heirs to the Venetian workshop of Giulio del Moro and had it placed over the entrance to the hall of the Grand Council in the Praetorian Palace. (Edvilijo Gardina)

Style: Mannerist Venetian sculpture
Provenance: Palazzo Pretorio, Koper
Physical Dimensions: h730 mm
Medium: bronze