Lodovico Manin, elected Doge in 1789, holds the distinction of being the last doge Venice would ever have. When Napoleon's forces threatened in May 1797, Manin reportedly removed his ducal cap and handed it to a servant, saying he would not be needing it again. The Great Council voted to dissolve the republic on May 12, 1797 — ending over a thousand years of continuous Venetian governance. Coins struck under his name span that entire final chapter.
The half ducato series under Manin ran only eight years before the mint ceased operations entirely under the Treaty of Campo Formio, which transferred Venice to Habsburg control.
Lodovico Manin, elected Doge in 1789, holds the distinction of being the last doge Venice would ever have. When Napoleon's forces threatened in May 1797, Manin reportedly removed his ducal cap and handed it to a servant, saying he would not be needing it again. The Great Council voted to dissolve the republic on May 12, 1797 — ending over a thousand years of continuous Venetian governance. Coins struck under his name span that entire final chapter.
The half ducato series under Manin ran only eight years before the mint ceased operations entirely under the Treaty of Campo Formio, which transferred Venice to Habsburg control.