Zulian family
The Zulian family was an old Venetian noble family. The place from whence the Zulian came to Venice is unclear; however, the family is considered one of the first that moved to Venice, and thus one of the oldest Venetian and Italian noble families. The family produced tribunes, and in the early 8th century gained dukedom, as a family member rose to the position of Maestro dei cavalieri. The family produced several prominent Venetian figures, including statesmen, generals, patrons and magnates.
History
The origins of the Zulian are unclear, as historians provide conflicting reports. Nonetheless, their old, or rather ancient origin is evident, as the family produced tribunes. The family appears to be one of the oldest in Venice. They produced a Maestro dei cavalieri in 741, an office which was instituted at the time as an equivalent to the title of Duke.Likewise, the family set their abode in Santa Fosca since early times. Indeed, as reported by Marco Barbaro, Marco Zulian, who in 1120 built the monastery and the Church of Santa Maria della Carità, came from Santa Fosca. A Francesco and Polo Zulian, mentioned in 1379 in documents of the comune, were also from Santa Fosca. Polo Zulian, already a renowned figure in Venice due to several ambassadorships, was elected Duke of Candia in 1382, but declined out of modesty. In 1410, Polo became Procurator of Saint Mark.
Polo's nephew, Andrea, translated Cassius Dio into Latin, and left several orations, for which he was praised by Flavio Biondo in his magnum opus Italia illustrata.
In 1439, another Andrea Zulian valiantly defended the Castelvecchio of Verona from the attacks of Condottiero Niccolò Piccinino, who had surprised the city.
The Zulian lived in Santa Fosca up to the 18th century. In the 17th century they erected the Palazzo Zulian on the Canal Grande. They probably built the palace over a pre-existing building owned by them, as the family is registered in the estimo of the Contrada of Santa Fosca since 1379. Girolamo Zulian left the palace to the Priuli of Sts. Gervasius and Protasius, bequeathing it to them in the will he drew up on August 2, 1794.
Cavaliere Girolamo Zulian was a famed ambassador and patron of the arts, who today is best remembered for his art collection, which he donated to the city of Venice in 1795, and for having been one of Canova's earliest patrons; commissioning from him the Theseus and the Minotaur in 1781, and greatly contributing to the Venetian's rise to fame. Girolamo Zulian was Savio di Terraferma, Senator, Correttore, Counsellor of Cannaregio and San Marco, Savio of the Council of Ten, and Savio del Consiglio. He later became Venetian ambassador to Rome and then bailo to Constantinople. Girolamo Zulian was a Knight of the Stola d'oro.