Francesco Foscari

Francesco Foscari was doge of Venice at the height of the Italian Renaissance. Foscari was elected to lead Venice in a long and protracted series of wars against Milan, governed by the Visconti[?], who were attempting to dominate all of Italy. Despite notable victories, the war was extremly costly to Venice and to her ally Florence, and they were eventually overcome by the forces of Milan under the leadership of Francesco Sforza. Sforza soon made peace with Florence, however, leaving Venice adrift.

Foscari's life is the basis for an opera by Giuseppi Verdi[?] and a poem by Lord Byron.