Captain of the Gulf

The Captain of the Gulf (capitan del Golfo) was a senior naval command of the Republic of Venice.

The post was established around 1330, when a squadron of ships was set up to patrol the "Gulf of Venice" (the Adriatic Sea) and provide protection for commerce there. Neither the squadron nor the post of Captain were permanent. Every winter, the standing committees of the Great Council of Venice established the annual orders for the so-called "guard fleet", or "fleet of the Gulf". The Great Council then voted on the proposals, the size of the fleet, and the appointment of a Captain of the Gulf and the galley captains (sopracomiti) for the galleys to be outfitted in Venice. The commanders of the galleys equipped by Venetian colonies were decided by the local colonists. In the 16th century, the Captain of the Gulf, at the head of a squadron that in peacetime numbered 7 to 12 galleys, patrolled the seas around the Venetian Ionian Islands.

In wartime, the Great Council authorized the creation of a fleet under the Captain-General of the Sea, who led the fleet on overseas campaigns, e.g. in the Aegean Sea or the Levant; the Captain of the Gulf and all other naval commanders were then placed under the Captain-General's orders. When the Venetian fleet acquired ships of the line in the late 17th century, the Captain of the Gulf remained as one of the three commanders who led galley squadrons (armata sottile), along with the provveditore d'armata and the governatore dei condannati. Towards the end of the Republic, the Captain of the Gulf had his base at Cattaro.