This book focuses on the identity and public personae of the dogaressa, wives of the elected doges of medieval and early modern Venice. The study traces the evolution of the public functions of the group of quasi-royal wives, rare for their visibility, during Venice's development into a regional economic and political power.

Caterina Corner, a Venetian noblewoman and the last Queen of Cyprus, led a complex and remarkable life. In 1468, Corner married King Jacques II Lusignan of Cyprus at the behest of her family, whose ambitions matched those of the Venetian republic anxious to extend its empire. In the first year of her reign, pregnant and widowed, she became regent for the kingdom. This study considers for the first time the strategies of her reign, negotiating Venetian encroachment, family pressures, and the challenges of female rule. Using previously understudied sources, such as her correspondence with...