Giovanni I di Murta
| Giovanni I di Murta | |
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| 2nd Lifetime Doge of the Republic of Genoa | |
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In office December 25, 1345 – January 6, 1350 |
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| Preceded by | Simone Boccanegra |
| Succeeded by | Giovanni II Valente |
| Personal details | |
| Born | unknown date Murta, Liguria, Italy |
| Died | January 6, 1350 Genoa, Liguria, Italy |
| Political party | Popolani |
| Profession | Banker |
Giovanni di Murta (Murta, date unknown – Genoa, January 6, 1350) was elected the second doge of the Republic of Genoa after the resignation of Simone Boccanegra, on December 25, 1345. His dogate was dominated by his attempts to break the circle of political violence which had crippled the city over the past century and to reassert the Genoese domination over the Mediterranean colonies.
While his date of birth remains unknown, it is assumed that he was born in the early years of the 14th century in the village of Murta in the Val Polcevera, today one of the boroughs of the city of Genoa from an affluent commoner family, however his mother was from the powerful Usodimare patrician family.
He became a banker by trade. After his accession to the office of doge, he managed to somewhat pacify the city torn apart by the conflict between the various local aristocratic families. In particular, he managed to prevent the Grimaldi clan from seizing the city. Against them, Giovanni da Murta chartered a fleet of over two dozen privately owned armed galleys under the command of the admiral Simone Vignoso.
As the Grimaldis did not go out at sea to oppose the Republic's galleys, the doge sent the navy to support the island of Chios, then a Genoese colony, which was besieged by Jani Beg, khan of the Golden Horde. The fleet also managed to reconquer the city of Phocea and its important alum mines on September 20, 1346.
Upon his return, the admiral did not receive the very large amount of money initially promised to him as payment for his galleys. Consequently, the doge had to agree to entrust Simone Vignoso and a group of his associates with the governorship of Chios, granting them at the same time the fiscal revenues from the island for twenty years. This group of investors became known as the Maona of Chios.
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