Francesco Contarini (1477–1558) was a patrician, official and diplomat of the Republic of Venice. He rose to prominence following the capture of his father in battle in 1509. His early career was spent mainly in Venice and its Terraferma. He served as an ambassador in the Holy Roman Empire in 1534–1536 and 1540–1541, in which capacity he attended the Diet of Regensburg in 1541. In his later career he led three embassies to the Holy See in 1550 and 1555.
Life
Contarini was born in Venice in 1477, the second son of Zaccaria Contarini and Alda Donà di Antonio. His early life was comfortable, passed in entertainments, including the plays of the Fausti.
Father's captivity
In June 1509, his father was taken prisoner by the French at the Battle of Agnadello. Surviving correspondence shows Contarini to have been heavily involved in negotiations for his release. His father wrote to inform him that he was being kept in a castle near Paris and treated humanely. He also received letters from his brother Paolo and from another prisoner, Gian Giacomo Caroldo. He wrote to the French commanders, the Admiral de Boissy and the Cardinal de Boissy.
In May 1510, Contarini put 2,000 ducats into the treasury of the Council of Ten to pay for a prisoner swap, although his money was ultimately returned and no prisoners were exchange. He thereafter opposed all prisoner exchanges that did not include his father, scuttling a planned exchange favoured by the Sanuto in October 1510. In the end, his money was refunded and his father died in prison after sending him his ring in November 1512. In August 1513, Contarini was appointed to his first political office, that of auditor novo. In 1514, he purchased a seat in the Senate for 2,000 ducats.
Savio di Terraferma
On 7 June 1515, Contarini sailed from Venice to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage. Upon his return, he purchased a seat on the Council of Ten for 1,500 ducats. He was a councillor from October 1516 to September 1517. On 3 September 1518, he was elected to succeed Francesco Cornaro as ambassador to the Kingdom of Aragon. He never took up the post, although the appointment was never formally revoked. On 3 March 1520, was elected one of the Savi of the Terraferma. He was reelected in 1521, 1522, 1523, 1525 and 1526.
On 6 June 1526, Contarini, to his dismay, was elected ambassador to England following the death of Lorenzo Orio. He fell ill before leaving, an illness Marino Sanuto attributes to his disconsolation. Marcantonio Venier was sent in his stead. As a result of his second failure as ambassador, Contarini was blacklisted from public office in 1527. On 9 Ocobter 1528, he was named paymaster of the Full College. In 1529, he was elected provveditore sopra i danari. He was one of the Savi di Terraferma again in 1531–1533. His terms were occupied by property disputes between the republic and the .
Ambassador
On 26 November 1534, Contarini was commissioned as ambassador to Ferdinand I, King of the Romans, arriving in Vienna before the year's end. His main goal was to preserve Venetian neutrality in the Habsburg–Ottoman war, but he was also tasked with securing the restoration of the fiefs of Belgrado and Castelnuovo to the . His dispatches include interesting perspectives on the Protestant Reformation, including the decline of Catholicism in Austria and the crushing of the Münster rebellion. In a coded dispatch of 23 April 1535, he describes the efforts of Bishop Bernardo Clesio, on behalf of Pope Paul III and Emperor Charles V, to persuade Venice to join the Holy League.