ABSTRACT

The period of Pietro II Orseolo’s rule in Venice, between 991 and 1008, was of extraordinary significance for Venice. For the first time, the Venetian state managed to give full expression to its solid potential, achieving an exceptionally propitious situation, especially when compared with the general conditions of the time. The first witness to sign, Badoero Bragadin, had high military responsibilities. When Orseolo put a stop to the payment of tributes to the Slavs of the Dalmatian coast when their anti-Venetian action resumed, he took a fleet of well-armed ships to carry out the reprisals against the Croats and returned victorious with many prisoners. This was a turning point in the contest, in which Pietro II Orseolo himself was shortly to lead a triumphal expedition and assume the title of Dalmaticorum dux. The witnesses chosen are therefore another indication of the formal and substantial importance of the donation, which was clearly part of the political action adopted by the doge.