Provveditore Generale da Mar

The Provveditore Generale da Mar (lit. 'Superintendent General of the Sea') was a senior office in the Venetian navy and in the Venetian overseas empire.

Arrival of a new Provveditore Generale da Mar at Corfu in the 18th century

The Provveditore Generale da Mar was the supreme commander of the Venetian fleet in peacetime. In wartime, he was replaced by the Capitano Generale da Mar, with more ample powers.[1] The office usually had a tenure of three years, but in wartime, the nomination of a new Capitano Generale da Mar was usually accompanied also by the election of a new Provveditore Generale.[2] From the first half of the 16th century, he also appears as the governor of the Venetian Ionian Islands. Eventually this appointment became regularized, as the Provveditore Generale del Levante; with his seat at Corfu, the Provveditore Generale da Mar was the senior civil and military governor of the Ionian Islands in peacetime.[3][4]

Typically he hoisted his ensign on a bastard galley, although in later times he was allowed to use a sailing ship of the line instead.[2] As a sign of his command, the poop deck of his vessel bore three lanterns.[5]

In wartime, due to his absence at the head of the fleet, he was sometimes replaced by a Provveditore Generale delle Tre Isole )lit. 'Superintendent general of the Three Islands'), referring to Corfu, Cephalonia, and Zakynthos, renamed to Provveditore Generale delle Quattro Isole after the addition of Lefkada to the Venetian domains in 1684.[3][4]

The office was abolished after the Fall of the Republic of Venice and the start of French rule in the Ionian Islands in June 1797.