The Fashioning of the Humanist Governor at the Dawn of a New Political and Cultural Era: Francesco Barbaro as Podestà of Venetian Vicenza

• Published in: Renaissance studies
• Main Author: Revest, Clémence
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2025
• Subjects: Classical studies; History; Humanities and Social Sciences; Literature; Francesco Barbaro; Guarino Veronese; Ciceronianism; public oratory; political ideology
• ISSN: 0269-1213

The patrician Francesco Barbaro (1390-1454) is well known for having been both a first-class humanist and a figurehead of the Venetian government in the new territories of the Stato da Terra. This article explores the pioneering use of humanist culture in the official praises he received during his political career, which helped shape a consensual ideology of the Venetian power as a Roman-like republican empire. The article highlights Barbaro’s tenure in Vicenza in 1425-1426 as a critical moment in this process, drawing attention to the three public panegyrics written during his stay: the two orations composed by Matteo Bissaro and the preamble to the new communal statutes written by Guarino Veronese. These texts show how, through the idealization of Barbaro’s figure, Neo-Ciceronian oratory became a common language for the local and patrician ruling classes and promoted an ethical pact, based on the reference to the ancients’ virtues.