FOSCARI, FRANCESCO doge of Venice, belonged to a noble Venetian family, and held many of the highest offices of the republic—ambassador, president of the Forty, mem ber of the Council of Ten, inquisitor, procurator of St. Mark, avvogadore di co1nun, etc. His first wife was Maria Priuli and his second Maria Nani; of his many children all save one son (Jacopo) died young. He was elected doge in 1423, and reigned for 34 years. In proclaiming the new doge the customary formula which recognized the people's share in the appointment and asked for their approval—the last vestige of popular government—was finally dropped. Through the doge's influence Venice joined the Florentines in their campaign against Milan, which was carried on with varying success for eight years. In 1444 began the domestic tragedy by which the name of Foscari has become famous. The doge's son Jacopo was accused of taking bribes. He escaped, but was tried in contumacy before the Council of Ten and banished to Treviso (1446) . Four years later Ermolao Donato, who had been a member of the Ten at the time of the trial, was assassi nated, and Jacopo Foscari was suspected of complicity in the deed. After a long inquiry he was brought to trial for the second time, and was banished to Candia for the rest of his life, with a pension of 200 ducats a year. In 1456 he was accused of treasonable cor respondence with the duke of Milan and the sultan of Turkey. He was tried and condemned to a year's imprisonment, to be fol lowed by a return to his place of exile. Jacopo died at Candia, in Jan. 145 7. The doge was overwhelmed with grief at this bereave ment and, incapable of attending to business, he was finally com pelled to abdicate, and died two days later (Nov. 1, Legend has added to the story many picturesque though quite apo cryphal details, most of them tending to show the iniquity and harsh ness of Jacopo's judges and accusers, whereas, as we have shown, he was treated with exceptional leniency. The most accurate account is contained in S. Romanin's Storia documentata di Venezia, lib. x. cap. iv. vii. and x. (Venice, 1855) ; where the original authorities are quoted ; see also Berlan, I due Foscari (Turin, 1852) . Among the poetical works on the subject Byron's tragedy, The Two Foscari, is the most famous (1821) , and Rogers' poem Italy (1821) ; Giuseppe Verdi composed an opera on the subject entitled I due Foscari.