Patriarchs of Aquileia,
Grado, and Venice

The principal city of the Roman province of Venetia et Histria was Aquileia. As the Empire Christianized, the city rated a Bishop and then an Archbishop. In the troubles of the Late Empire, however, Aquileia was hit particularly hard. It was sacked by the Visigoths in 403, by the Huns in 452, and then by the Lombards in 659. Each time, local inhabitants fled to safety on islands in the nearby swampy lagoons, or to barrier and offshore islands. With the arrival of the Lombards, this became a permanent recourse for many. The name Venetia itself eventually became transfered to the city founded on Rialto Island -- Venice, Venezia.

Nevertheless, Aquileia survived. The Archbishop Paulinus even began to style himself a Patriarch, after disagreements with the findings of the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553 and a schism with Rome. The refuge that Paulinus took on the island of Grado, just offshore from Aquileia, however, introduced another kind of division. When doctrinal or political disagreements led to rival Patriarchs, the two sides tended to establish themselves at Aquileia and Grado. By 630 this became a permanent division, with a "Roman" Patriarch at Grado ("New Aquileia") and a "Lombard" Patriarch at (Old) Aquileia. On the map we see the subsequent development, that the Patriarchate of Grado was relocated to Venice and than transformed into the Patriarchate of Venice. By 1500, Aquileia had little surviving authority; but, as we see from the map [Historical Atlas of the World, Barnes & Noble, 1970, 1972, p.48], its jurisdiction was still considerably larger than that of Venice, which nevertheless had been given primacy.

Bishops of Aquileia
Hilarius of Panonia		c.276-285
Chrysogonus I		c.286-295
Chrysogonus II		c.295-308
Theodore		c.308-319
Agapitus		c.319-332
Benedictus		c.332-?
Fortunatianus		c.343-355
Archbishops of Aquileia, 355-557
Valerianus		369-388
Chromatius		388-407
Goths sack Aquileia, 403
Augustinus		407-434
Adelphus		434-442
Maximus I		442-444
Januarius		444-447
Secundus		451-452
Huns sack Aquileia, 452
Nicetas		454-485
Marcellianus		448-500
Marcellinus		500-513
Stephanus I		515-?
Macedonius		539-?
Ecumentical Council V, Constantinople II, 553; Patriarchs of Aquileia, 557-1752
Paulinus I		557-569
Lombards sack Aquileia, 569			Paulinus flees to Grado, 569
Probinus		569-570
Elia		571-586
Severus		586-606
Candidianus	Ioannes I	Counter-Patriarch, 606
	606-612
Reconciliation with Rome, 606
Epiphanius		in Grado, 612-613
Ciprianus	in Grado, 613-627	Marcianus	in Aquileia, 623-628
Aquileia		Grado
Fortunatus	628-663	Primogenius	630-648
		Maximus II	649
Felix of Aquileia	649-?
Ioannes II	663-?	Stephanus II	670-?
Agathon	679-680 or 679-?
Ioannes III	680-?	Christophoros	685-?
Petrus I	698-700	Unknown
Serenus	711-723
Calixtus	726-734
vacant or unknown, 734-772
Siguald	772-776
Paulinus II	776-802	John IV	d.802/803
Ursus I	802-811	Fortunatus of Trieste	803-825
Manentius	811-833	Unknown
Andreas	834-844
Venantius	850-?
Theutmar	855-?
Lupus I	855-?
Valpert	875-899
Fredericus I	901-922
Leo of Aquileia	922-927
Ursus II	928-931
Lupus II	932-944
Engelfred	944-963
Rodoald	963-984
Ioannes IV of Ravena	984-1017
Poppo/ Wolfgang	1019-1045	Fortunatus	c.1020
Eberhard	1045-1049	Unknown
Gotebald	1049-1063	Domenicus	c.1050
		Named by Pope Metropolitan of Venetia & Istria, 1053
Ravengerius	1063-1068	Unknown
Sigeard of Beilstein	1068-1077
Henry of Aquileia	1077-1084
Frederick II of Moravia	1084-1085
Ulrich I of Eppenstein	1086-1121	Patriarchs reside in Venice, 1105
Gerard I	1122-1128	Unknown
Pilgrim I of Ortenbourg	1130-1161
Ulrich II of Treven	1161-1181
Gottfried	1182-1194
Pilgrim II	1195-1204
Wolgfar of Leibrechtskirchen	1204-1218
Berthold of Meran	1218-1251
Gregorio of Montelongo	1251-1269
Philipp I of Carinthia	1269-1273
Raimondo of Torre	1273-1299
Pietro II Gerra	1299-1301
Ottobuono of Razzi	1302-1315	Giles	early 1300's
Gaston of Torre	1316-1318		Latin Patriarch of Alexandria
Paganus of Torre	1319-1332	Unknown
Bertram of St. Genesius	1334-1350
Nicolas of Luxemburg	1350-1358
Ludovicus I of Torre	1359-1365	Fortanerius Vassalli	d.1361
Marquard of Randelle	1365-1381	Thomas of Frignano	1372-1381
Philippe II of Alençon	1381-1387	Unknown
Jan V Sobieslaw of Moravia	1387-1394
Antonio I Gaetani	1394-1402	Francis Lando	d.1409
Antonio II Panciera	1402-1412		Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
Antonio III of Ponte	Counter- Partriarch, 1409-1412; 1412-1418	Unknown
Ludwig II of Teck	1412-1439
Ludovicus III Scarampi-Mezzarota	1439-1465	Domenico Michel	1445-1451

Bishops of Olivolo
Obelerius	775-
Christopher I Damiata	797-810, 813-?
Christopher II	810-813
Orso I Parteciacus	825-
Maurice	?
Domenicus I	?
John	?-876, excommunicated
Lorenzo I	880-909
Domenico II	909-?
Domenico III	?
Peter I Tribunus	929-938
Orso II	938-945
Domenico IV Talonicus	945-955
Peter II Marturio	955-963
George	963-966
Marino Cassianico	966-992
Domenico V Gradenigo	992-1026
Domenico VI Gradenigo	1026-1044
Domenico VII Contarini	1044-1074
Bishops of Castello
Henry Contarini	1074-1108
Vitale I Michiel	1108-1120
Bonifacio Falier	1120-1133
John I Polani	1133-1164
Vitale II Michiel	1164-1182
Philip Casolo	1182-1184
Mark I Nicolai	1184-1225
Mark II Michiel	1225-1135
Peter III Pino	1235-1255
Walter Agnusdei	1255-1258
Thomas I Arimondo	1258-1260
Thomas II Franco	1260-1274
Bartolomew I Querini	1274-1292
Simeon Moro	1292-1293
Bartholomew II Querini	1293-1303
Ramberto Polo	1303-1311
Galasso Albertini	1311
Giacomo Albertini	1311-1329
Angelo I Dolfin	1329-1336
Nicholas Morosini	1336-1367
Paul Foscari	1367-1375
John II	1375-1378, deposed
Nicholas II Morosini	1379
Angelo II Correr	1379-1390
	Pope Gregory XII, 1406-1415 d.1417
John III Loredan	1390
Francis I Falier	1390-1392
Leonard Dolfin	1392-1401
Francis II Bembo	1401-1417
Mark III Lando	1417-1426
Peter IV Donato	1426-1428
Francis III Malipiero	1428-1433
St. Lawrence Justinian, Lorenzo II Giustiniani	1433-1451
	Patriarch of Venice, 1451-1455

For a long time Aquileia remained an important city and a regional power. The Patriarchs even became secular rulers of the County of Fruili and the March of Carniola in 1077, and of the March of Istria in 1209. However, the Popes began to favor Grado, whose Patriarch was named Metropolitan of Venetia & Istria in 1053. By then, the Patriarchs of Grado had begun to reside at Venice, where they made their permanent seat in 1105. Aquileia went into decline. Carniola and Istria passed to Austria (1335 and 1382, respectively), and all the lands of the Patriarch of Aquileia came under the control of Venice on 7 July 1420.

Meanwhile, Venice had developed its own eccelesiastical jurisdiction. In 774, Pope Adrian I and the Patriarch of Grado John IV authorized an episcopal see on the island of Olivolo (Isola d'Olivolo, subsequently San Pietro di Castello or just Castello) with jurisdiction over the islands of Gemini, Rialto, Luprio and Dorsoduro. At the same time, the Bishops of Padua, the original episcopal authorites over the area of Venice, had been taking refuge at need on the island of Metamaucus, which became an alterantive seat for the see. In 812 this was moved to Venice. In 1074, the Bishop of Olivolo began to be styled the Bishop of Castello. Finally, in 1451 the Patriarchate of Grado was combined with the Bishopric of Costello and reestablished as a new Patriarchate of Venice itself.

Although we see from the map above that the authority of the Patriarchate of Aquileia was still extensive around 1500, the ambition of Venice led in 1752 to the dissolution of the Patriarchate and the division of its authority between the Archbishop of Gorizia (Görz) and the Archbishop of Udine. Today -- as Aquileia has shrunk to a small and forgotten town on the way to Grado -- Gorizia, Udine, and Trieste are the principal cities in the area. It is thus noteworthy that the decline of Aquileia was not an effect of the Dark Ages, as I long thought, but actually of the long development of local politics in the later Middle Ages and afterwards.

Venice survives as one of the "minor Patriarchates" within the Western, Catholic Church. The Patriarchs have become particularly important in the Catholic Church, with three of them elected Popes in the 20th century. With the strange history of Venice, itself, poised between Francia and Romania, it is fitting that its Church should survive with an anomalously elevated dignity. Other "minor Patriarchates" include Lisbon and the "Patriarch of the East Indies" at Goa, in India. These may be contasted with the autonomous or "autocephalous" Patriarchates of the Eastern Churches, like Constantinople, Jerusalem, Bulgaria, etc.

These lists are from Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia and at http://www.gcatholic.com/ hierarchy/patriarchs-venice.htm, the Giga Catholic Information. Originally, I found the lists of Patriarchs of Venice to be incomplete. Now they seem to have been filled in. However, the list of Patriarchs of Grado from 670 to 1451 is still mostly empty. I do not know if these figures are actually unknown, which seems unlikely, or if the list simply has not yet been transcribed from the sources into an accessible venue.

What may be a factor in this is that, as the Patriarchs of Grado came to reside at Venice, their standing became completely overshadowed by that of the local Bishops of Olivolo and Castello, whose line then extinguished and surplanted that of Grado. There are lacunae in the line of Bishops, but nothing like the gaps that exist for Grado. My suspicion, therefore, is that the list of Patriarchs of Grado is so obscure and incomplete because, even before it was absorbed into the Patriarchate of Venice, its role and presence was already eclipsed. No one much bothered with Grado when the local bishops were seen, certainly in retrospect and perhaps even at the time, as more significant. One of the bishops was even elected Pope Gregory XII -- at Rome during the Great Schism, and the Roman Pope who was deposed by the Council of Constance (1414-1418) to end the Schism. It may be symbolic and more than the only saint on this page, St. Lawrence Giustiniani, is the Bishop of Castello who then becomes the first Patriarch of Venice.

Aquileia		Patriarchate of Grado and Bishopric of Castello become Patriarchate of Venice
Marco I Barco	1465-1491	St. Lawrence Justinian, Lorenzo Giustiniani	Bishop of Castello, 1544-1451
			Patriarch of Venice, 1451-1455
		Maffio Contarini	1456-1460
		Andrea Bondimerio	1460-1464
		Gregorio Correr	1464
		Giovanni Barozzi	1465-1466
Ermolaio I Barbaro	1491-1493	Maffeo Gherardi or Girardi	1466-1492
Niccolo II Donati	1493-1497	Tomaso Dona	1492-1504
Domenico Grimani	1498-1517	Antonio Soriano	1504-1508
		Alvise Contarini	1508
		Antonio Contarini	1508-1524
Marino Grimani	1517-1529, 1533-1545	Geronimo Quirni	1524-1554
Marco II Grimani	1529-1533
Giovanni VI Grimani	1545-1550, 1585-1593	PierFrancesco Contarini	1554-1555
Daniel I Barbaro	1550-1574	Vincenzo Diedo	1556-1559
Aloisio Giustiniani	1574-1585	Giovanni Trevisano	1560-1590
Francesco Barbaro	1593-1616	Lorenzo Priuli	1591-1600
		Matteo Zane	1600-1605
		Francesco Vendramin	1608-1616
Ermolaio II Barbaro	1616-1622	Giovanni Tiepolo	1619-1631
Antonio IV Grimani	1622-1628
Agostino Gradenigo	1628-1629	Federico Baldissera Bartolomeo Cardinal Cornaro	1631-1644
Marco III Gradenigo	1629-1656	GianFrancesco Morosini	1644-1678
Hieronimo Gradenigo	1656-1658	Alvise Sagredo	1678-1688
Giovanni VII Dolfino	1658-1699	Gianalberto Badoaro	1688-1714
Dionisio Dolfino	1699-1734	Piero Barbarigo	1706-1725
		Marco Gradenigo	1725-1734
Daniel II Dolfino	1734-1751	Francesco Antonio Correr	1734-1741
	Archbishop of Udine, 1752-1762	Aloysius Foscari	1741-1758
See divided between Archbishop of Udine & Archbishop of Gorizia, 1752		Giovanni Bragadin	1758-1775
Patriarchs of Venice
Fridericus Maria Giovanelli		1776–1800
Ludovico Flangini Giovanelli		1801–1804
Nicolaus Xaverius Gamboni		1807–1808
Francesco Milesi		1816–1819
Giovanni Ladislaus Pryker, O. Cist.		1820-1826
Giacomo Cardinal Monico		1827-1851
Angelo Ramazzotti		1858-1861
Giuseppe Cardinal Trevisanato		1862-1877
Domenico Cardinal Agostini		1877-1891
Guiseppe Melchiorre Cardinal Sarto		1896-1903
		Pope Pius X, 1903-1914
Aristide Cardinal Cavallari		1904-1914
Pietro Cardinal La Fontaine		1915-1935
Adeodato Giovanni Cardinal Piazza		1936-1948
Carlo Agostini		1949-1952
Angelo Giuseppe Cardinal Roncalli		1953-1958
		Pope John XXIII, 1958-1963
Giovanni Cardinal Urbani		1958-1969
Albino Cardinal Luciani		1970-1978
		Pope John Paul I, 1978
Marco Cardinal Cé		1979-2002
Angelo Cardinal Scola		2002-present

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Copyright (c) 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved