Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (Italian: [anˈdrɛːa ˈdɔːrja]; Ligurian: Drîa Döia [ˈdɾiːa ˈdɔːja]; 30 November 1466 – 25 November 1560) was an Italian statesman, condottiero and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime.
Doria was considered the foremost naval leader in Europe at his time. From 1528, he served as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's grand admiral in the Mediterranean, as well as his main shipbuilder along with Álvaro de Bazán the Elder, while also acting as a privateer with the ships he owned in order to increase his own wealth. Although he had mixed success against the eminent threat of the Ottoman admirals, his fleet helped secure the imperial naval lines between Spain and Italy. He also played a role in the development of amphibious warfare by the Spanish and Italian navies.
As a citizen of Genoa, Doria used his relationship with Charles V to both protect the republic's independence and exercise a predominant influence in its councils. He refused official charges, accepting only the title of Father of the Fatherland, and instead ruled the republic as an economic and military player. Under his reforms, the Doge's office was reduced to two years instead of being elected for life, while plebeians were declared ineligible, and the appointment was entrusted to the members of the great and the little councils. His constitutional reforms would last until the end of the republic in 1797.
His posterior historical reputation became influenced by the lens of his Venetian rivals, which accused him of unstrategic and duplicitous conduct in battle. Even then, several ships in the next centuries were named in his honour, the most famous being the Italian passenger liner SS Andrea Doria, launched in 1951, which sank following a collision in 1956.
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