Savi di Terraferma

The or () was a board of five senior magistrates of the Republic of Venice, initially charged with the defence of the Republic's possessions in the Italian mainland (). Gradually they assumed specific roles pertaining to the supervision of public finances (the ), the military administration (the and ), state ceremonies (the ), and urgent matters (the ).

Establishment

The were established , as part of the Republic's expansion into the Veneto and Lombardy, and its military confrontation with the Duchy of Milan over hegemony in northern Italy. They were probably the direct descendants of the extraordinary that were elected in 1412 for the pursuit of the war. In 1432, the became members of the Venetian Senate.

Composition

They were five in number, and sat on the Full College (), the Republic's effective cabinet. As with other higher magistracies of Venice, restrictions were placed on the eligibility to the office: the members were elected from the Venetian Senate, served a term of six months, and could not be re-elected to the same office for three months thereafter. To ensure continuity, the appointments to the office of were staggered: three took office on 1 October, two on 1 January, three on 1 April, and two on 1 July.

Roles

Like all , the office did not carry a salary, but could be held in tandem with other public offices. The roles of each of the were eventually regularized:

• the was analogous to a Minister for War. The post existed since at least 1519, and initially tasked with the payment of military salaries, but by the mid-17th century its powers had been extended to encompass all areas of military administration, apart from the supervision of the militias and those matters under the purview of military committees staffed by patricians holding military commands, to which he acted in an advisory capacity.
• the was analogous to a Finance Minister. The post existed as early as 1473, but appears to have lapsed and not revived until 1526, and abolished again in 1539–1543. The supervised the fiscal officials known as and was responsible for public finances, including tax collection. His tenure lasted for a year (after 1543 limited to six months), but all affairs begun under his tenure remained under his purview until completed, even after leaving office.
• the was responsible for the supervision of the militias (). Unlike the previous two posts, there was no election specifically on this position, which was given to one of the three remaining with the highest number of votes.
• the was responsible for public ceremonies.
• the was responsible for any other matter voted as urgent ().

References

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