Page 184 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

170 ODYSSEUS N. KAPE.J."OS

The Mainland Wars
Until Francesco Foscare was elected Doge in 1423, Venetian foreign policy
had aimed a t keeping peace with even the most hostile of the mainland states of ltaly.
Foscare changed this approach and with it the direction of Venetian history.
A year after Foscare was invested, Venice went to war against Milan. lt was
perhaps the most ambitious war on which Venice had ever embarked, yet the re-
sults were most disappointing. After seven years of fighting the Venetians had won
no victories of lasting importance, had spent millions of ducats to support their
field army, and stili had failed to curb the Milanese appetite.
The Republic did indeed gain territory on the «terra firma» surrounding its
islands in the Lagoon of Venice, but the cost of obtaining and protecting these new
lands proved à crippling burden. Fighting continued sporadically for twenty-five
years, with no further conquests, while the treasury continued to dwindle. VeniCe
could neither come to acceptable terms with Milan nor win a decisive victory. Pea-
ce was not made until1455. By that time, however, the strategie equation had been
changed, by the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans two years before. The Ve-
netians, had been too absorded by the fighting in ltaly to consider plans for the
defence of their islands in the Aegean sea, which was now · threatened. Venice, in
fact, could now do little to recoup its prior strategie contro! in the East.

The problem of the Allies

Even if the city had wanted to reinforce its post in the Aegean Sea, it was
in no position to do so. After thirty years of fighting in ltaly, money and manpower
were both in short supply. Foscare's successor, Pasquale Malipiero, attempted to
keep peace with the Ottomans, even as he sought allies to help retake Constantino-
ple, but no firm support was forthcoming from any W ester n power. Mali piero de-
cided to bide his time; business continued as usual until his death in 1462.
The new Doge, Christoforo Moro, reversed course and, with Great Council,
approved an alliance with Pope ~ius Il, the Duke of Burgundy, and the King of
Hungary. These allies were worth little; Burgundy did not deliver the money or
the proops promised, the Pope's coffers were nearly empty, and the Hungarian
army, hundreds of miles to the north.
Venice was alone. Just as the Venetians had earlier reversed their policy of
cautious detachment from mainland wars, entangling themselves in an endless war
with Milan, they now discarded allied action against the Ottomans and continued
by themselves. To take on the Ottomans was difficult enough; to do so without
allies was nearly hopeless; and to enter this contest after decades of mainland war
was fatefoul indeed.
Severa! years went by without either a significant victory or a significant de-
feat for the Ottomans or the Venetians. Finally, the large island ofNegroponte (Eu-
boea) the Venetian strongbold near Athens was lost in 1470.