History
Orio Mastropiero, also written Malipiero, was elected doge in 1178 when Sebastiano Ziani retired. A year earlier Venice had hosted the peace between Frederick Barbarossa and Pope Alexander III.
His reign was money-poor. Zara revolted with the support of Béla III of Hungary, and Venice waited years before it could pay for a siege. The siege of 1187 was cut short when Pope Gregory VIII called Christians to the Third Crusade. Orio fell ill, abdicated in 1192, and died in a monastery on 13 June 1192.
On the 1178 map he holds Venice. On patch 1.20.1.2 a republic is not a playable government, so he is a neighbor, not a pick. An official Silk & Silver screenshot shows him as Doge Orio of Venice on 19 March 1179, with the Venetian Republic Government window open.
In the game
| Seat | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start | 1178 |
| Title | Venice |
| Government | Republic. Playable with Silk & Silver, due 17 Nov 2026. |
| Office | Doge, for a term. The store screenshot of 19 March 1179 shows his term ending on 20 March 1182. |
| Administration | Maritime Republic on the store screenshot. Communal, Civic, Popular, and Noble are the other choices. |
How to play
Goal. Keep Venice's family at the top through the elections, and turn trade into a hold on the Adriatic and the Byzantine ports.
With Silk & Silver you play a patrician family, not a crown. The doge holds the title for a term, an Assembly votes on laws, and money and popularity win the next election. Byzantium under Manuel Komnenos and the Guelph and Ghibelline fight in northern Italy are the neighbors. Without the expansion, Venice is on the map but you cannot pick it.
Where this run fails. Losing the election to a rival house, a revolt in Dalmatia, or a treasury too thin to pay for a war.