Provveditore generale da Mar

The Provveditore generale da Mar ("Superintendent general of the Sea") was a senior office in the Venetian navy.

The Provveditore generale da Mar was the supreme commander of the Venetian fleet in peacetime. In wartime, he was replaced by the Capitano generale da Mar, with more ample powers. As a sign of his command, the poop deck of his galley bore three lanterns.

From the first half of the 16th century, he also appears as the governor of the Venetian Ionian Islands. Eventually this appointment became regularized, as the Provveditore generale del Levante; with his seat at Corfu, the Provveditore generale da Mar was the senior civil and military governor of the Ionian Islands in peacetime.

In wartime, due to his absence at the head of the fleet, he was sometimes replaced by a Provveditore generale delle Tre Isole ("Superintendent general of the Three Islands"), renamed to Provveditore generale delle Quattro Isole after 1684.