EXAMPLE OF THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE OFFICE OF THE DOGE OF VENICE FROM THE 17TH CENTURY: DUCAL LETTER OF DOGE ALVISE CONTARINI

Abstract

It is known that the notary and chancellor played an important role in the written production of the office of the Doge of Venice since the late Middle Ages. The documents created within the said office can be classified as legal documents and contracts, and then there are the letters of the parliament that come from the pen of the Doge or the Venetian envoys in other countries. Most of the mentioned sources are kept in the State Archives of Venice, while a certain number of documents are in archives in Istria and Dalmatia. One such example of a source is the 17th-century transcript of Doge Alvise Contarini, which forms part of the collection of Venetian documents available through the online State Archives in Pazin. The document was written in the Venetian dialect of the Old Italian language, and represents a valuable testimony in the field of cultural and literary history and diplomatics.