Most Venetians and students of Venetian history will recognize the name of Francesco Morosini (1619–1694): the capitano generale da mar who surrendered Candia to the Turks in 1669 after the 25-year siege; recaptured most of the Morea (albeit destroying the Pantheon) in 1685–1687; was elected doge in absentia in 1688; and died in 1694 during an unsuccessful campaign to retake Negroponte. Given the title Peloponnesiaco, he was the first Venetian to be honored with a bronze bust in the Maggior Consiglio of the Palazzo Ducale.

And yet, the great warrior doge has overshadowed another Francesco Morosini (1560–1641), a homonym whose father was also named Pietro. A man of considerable achievements, this Francesco served in numerous offices, most notably as Provveditore Generale of Candia (1625–1628) where he remade the civic center with a new loggia and fountain. Elected Procurator de Supra in 1630, he was called ‘il Doge’ during his lifetime, but never attained the dogeship. He was buried alongside his wife in a magnificent tomb in San Pietro di Castello. This Francesco is often confused with his more famous namesake in modern scholarship; the present paper is intended to set the record straight.