FALIERO, MAmxo (1271-1355), doge of Venice, was born in 1274, In 1346 he commanded the Venetian forces at the siege of Zara, where, being attacked by Louis the Great of Hungary with a force of 80,000 men, he totally defeated them, inflicting a loss of 8000, and compelling him to abandon all further attempts to raise the siege, which was concluded shortly afterwards by the surrender of the defenders at discretion. As commander of the Venetian fleet lie also gained several victories and captured Capo d'Istria. He was elected doge llth September 1351. His reign was short, anti it had both a disastrous commencement and a tragic close. Very soon after his election the Venetian fleet was captured by the Genoese, and hardly had he concluded a four months' truce with Genoa, when a very trivial incident occurred which resulted in his arrest and execution. It would appear that, though an able general and prudent statesman, Faliero possessed a temper so choleric that when he was provoked reason for a time almost forsook him. On the occasion of the usual court feast on Shrove Thursday, a young nobleman named Michele Steno, perhaps excited by wine, took stone liberties with one of the maids of honour, and the doge on that account caused him to be ignominiously expelled from the hall. Provoked at such a public affront Steno went to the hall of audience and wrote on the doge's chair the following words - Marini dalla belles moglie, altri ice node ed egli la mantiene (Marino Faliero, the husband of the beautiful wife; others kiss her, he keeps her). The author of the insult was soon discovered and arrested, but the council sentencing him only to two months' imprisonment, the doge resolved to have adequate revenge, and with this view formed a conspiracy to seize all the nobles and leading citizens, and to make himself despot of Venice. The plot being, however, discovered a short time before the day fixed on, the doge and principal conspirators were arrested, and were executed on the 17th April 1355.

The reign of Faliero has formed the subject of tragedies by Lord Byron, by Delavigne, and by Albert Lindner ; and Hoffman has employed it to furnish materials for a romance. It also forms the subject of the libretto of one of Donizetti's operas. Byron has added to his tragedy a good many notes on the character of Micro, and on the incidents of his reign, together with an English translation - made by F. Cohen - of the old Chroniek of Marino 111lien). The circumstances of Faliero's plot are related in one of the letters of Tetrarch, who was his contemporary and friend.