In the year of the Serrata, the bodies of Bocconi—a popular leader—and ten of his followers were left hanging between the red columns of Venice. It was a brutal warning to dissenters. Yet, instead of silencing unrest, the failed war only deepened popular discontent.

This growing anger soon found leadership among ambitious and disgraced nobles from the Quirini, Tiepolo, and Badoer families—men united by a shared hatred of the ducal regime. Secret meetings were held in Casa Quirini, near the Rialto, where plans took shape for nothing less than revolution.

At the heart of the conspiracy stood Bajamonte Tiepolo, son of Jacopo Tiepolo and a beloved figure among the people, known as the Gran Cavaliere. The objective was stark and uncompromising: assassinate the Doge, Pietro Gradenigo, and his principal supporters.

The Revolt of June 14, 1310

The uprising was scheduled for Sunday, June 14, 1310, the eve of St. Vito’s Day. Two armed divisions were to advance simultaneously toward the Doge’s Palace:

• One, led by Marco Quirini, would march via the Calle dei Fabri.
• The other, commanded by Bajamonte, would proceed along the Merceria.

Meanwhile, Badoer was dispatched to Padua to gather reinforcements.

Yet, despite meticulous planning, two forces proved fatal to the conspirators: human treachery and nature itself.

At dawn, as the rebels burst from Casa Quirini shouting “Liberty!” and “Death to Doge Gradenigo!”, a violent storm descended upon Venice. Driving rain, thunder, and fierce winds drowned their voices and disrupted coordination. The two divisions failed to converge as planned.

Instead of allies, Quirini’s men encountered a well-prepared ducal force in the Piazza. They were scattered; Quirini and his son were slain.

The conspiracy had already been betrayed by Marco Donato, and the Doge responded with characteristic resolve. Guards were reinforced, aid summoned from Chioggia, Murano, and Torcello, arsenal workers were armed, and councillors took up weapons alongside their servants.

A Turning Point in the Merceria

With Quirini eliminated, the Doge turned his attention to Bajamonte’s force in the Merceria. During the fighting, a dramatic moment shifted the tide.

A woman named Lucia Rosso, watching from an upper window, hurled a stone mortar at Bajamonte’s standard-bearer. It struck him fatally. The banner—emblazoned with the word “Liberty”—fell to the ground with its bearer.

Panic spread. The rebels fled across the Rialto Bridge.

Quirini’s remaining supporters regrouped briefly in Campo S. Lucia, but they were crushed by members of the Painters’ Guild and the Guild of Charity. Bajamonte and his followers made a final stand by destroying the bridge and fortifying houses beyond the Rialto. After prolonged negotiations, they surrendered.

Their lives were spared, but exile from Venetian territory was the price.

Punishment, Memory, and Symbolism

Badoer’s reinforcements fared no better. Defeated by forces from Chioggia, Badoer and his closest followers were captured and hanged between the red columns.

To commemorate Venice’s narrow escape, St. Vito’s Day was declared a perpetual festival of public thanksgiving.

Rewards and punishments followed:

• Marco Donato and his descendants were admitted to the Great Council.
• Lucia Rosso, asked to name her reward, requested only the right to fly the banner of St. Mark from her window on feast days and that the annual rent of fifteen ducats on her house never be increased.

Her house, later known as the Casa e bottega della grazia del morter, once stood at the entrance of the Merceria from the Piazza. According to tradition, the mortar was thrown from its third-floor window.

Meanwhile:

• The lower part of Marco Quirini’s house was converted into shambles.
• Bajamonte’s house in S. Agostino was razed, its land confiscated, and a column erected declaring his treachery as a warning to others.
• Some of the building’s marble was reused in 1316 to restore the Church of St. Vito.

Bajamonte spent eighteen years in exile, relentlessly plotting revenge—until he was quietly eliminated by an agent of the Council of Ten.

The Birth of the Council of Ten

Few institutions in history share such a dark reputation as Venice’s Consiglio dei Dieci (Council of Ten), rivaled only by the Comité du Salut public of revolutionary France.

The failed conspiracy of 1310 exposed a critical weakness in Venetian governance: the lack of a fast, secretive executive authority. Initially formed to deal with the aftermath of the plot, the Council of Ten proved so effective that it was renewed repeatedly and made permanent in 1335.

Its mandate was clear:

To preserve the liberty and peace of the Republic’s subjects and protect them from abuses of personal power.

Structure, Powers, and Safeguards

The Ten were elected by the Great Council from among the most reputable citizens, with strict limitations:

• Only one member per family
• One-year terms
• No re-election
• No salary
• Mandatory recusal if a relative was accused
• Acceptance of gifts was punishable by death

Once their term ended, members returned to private life.

From among themselves, the Ten elected three chiefs (Capi)**, serving for one month under strict isolation. They were forbidden to circulate freely or frequent public gathering places. Their duties included prison oversight, accelerating trials, and reporting arrests and pending cases.

The Doge and his six Privy Councillors attended sessions, while a legal officer observed proceedings to prevent abuses of power.

Justice Behind Closed Doors

Secret denunciations, often placed in the Bocche del Leone, were subjected to rigorous scrutiny. The accused were usually interrogated in darkness, though a supermajority could require proceedings to take place in the light.

Safeguards included:

• The right to call witnesses
• Full reading of the defense
• Multiple ballots before condemnation
• Automatic acquittal or retrial if consensus was insufficient

Only after repeated confirmations could a sentence become final.

Areas of Authority

The Council of Ten oversaw an extraordinary range of matters, including:

• Crimes involving nobles
• Treason, conspiracy, and espionage
• Secret intelligence
• Public morality and masked balls
• Theatres and use of arms
• Guild regulations
• Currency fraud and metal debasement
• Murano’s glass industry
• Forests, mines, and waterways
• After 1692, censorship of the printing press

Legacy

Born from crisis, the Council of Ten became one of the most powerful—and feared—institutions in Venetian history. Its legacy remains a compelling study in the balance between security, secrecy, and liberty within a republic that prized stability above all else.