Nicolò Barbaro

Nicolò Barbaro, son of Marco, (1427–28 – c. 1521) was a Venetian nobleman and author of an eyewitness account, written in Venetian vernacular, documenting the Ottoman siege and conquest of Byzantine Constantinople in 1453, also known as the Fall of Constantinople.

His parents, Marco Barbaro from the sestierie of Santa Croce and Cristina Trevisan were married in 1417. Nicolò was the third of five sons and was registered for the Balla d’oro by his father in 1451.

In the summer of 1452, Nicolò Barbaro was chosen to serve as a crossbowman on the commercial galleys going to Constantinople. This convoy, under the command of Alvise Diedo, remained in Constantinople through the winter of 1452 and spring of 1453 to help in defending the city. Born in 1427 or 1428, Barbaro was not yet 25 years old when he became involved in the defense of Constantinople. He was related by blood to the captain of the mercantile convoy, Alvise Diedo, son of Marco, who is frequently mentioned in his account.

After his return from Constantinople, Nicolò Barbaro joined the Great Council of Venice in 1453. He became a member of the Giudici per tutte le Curie in 1457; one of the Ufficiali in Levante later that year; Treasurer of the Ufficiali al Cattaver in 1459; Capo Sestiere in 1464; and Podestà of Cittadella, near Padua, in early 1466. In 1470, Barbaro was elected to the Council of Forty. In 1476, he was elected to the Cinque alle Pace. He became one of the Signore di notte in 1478.

Nicolò Barbaro married Fantina Venier in 1484. They had two daughters, Cristina and Chiara, and son Marco, who was born in the early 1490s and died in 1511. Nicolò Barbaro's grandson, the son of Marco, was the genealogist Marco Barbaro.