Most Serene Republic

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This article is about the title of sovereign states. For the Canadian indie rock band, see The Most Serene Republic.

Most Serene Republic (Latin: Serenissima Respublica) is a title attached to a number of European states through history. By custom, the appellation "Most Serene" is an indicator of sovereignty (see also Serene Highness or Most Serene Highness for a sovereign prince). When used in the past, the title "Most Serene Republic" emphasized the sovereignty of the republic.

Modern states[]

Currently, no country officially calls itself a "Most Serene Republic". San Marino, officially "the Republic of San Marino" (Italian: Repubblica di San Marino), is the only modern independent nation still sometimes referred to by the style, being at times unofficially called the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino).[1]

Historical states[]

  • Republic of Venice (English: the Most Serene Republic of Venice; Venetian: Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta; Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia), a city-state that existed from 697 to 1797 based in the city of Venice with continuously controlled territory along the eastern Adriatic and Greece at its strongest period. The phrase "La Serenissima" ("The Most Serene") was also popularly used as a specific reference to the Venetian government or state authorities.[2]
  • Republic of Genoa (English: the Most Serene Republic of Genoa; Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di Genova), an independent state based in present-day Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from ca. 1100 to 1805. After using the plain title of "Republic" for a long time, the honorific "Most Serene" was added after the election of the first Doge of Genoa (1339). Even so, to distinguish their government from its ancient rival to the east, the Genoese rarely used the "Most Serene" designation, opting more frequently for the appellation "Superb Republic" (Italian: La Superba Repubblica), a nickname allegedly coined by Petrarch in 1358.[3]
  • Republic of Lucca (English: the Most Serene Republic of Lucca; Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di Lucca), a city-state that existed from 1119 to 1799 based in the city of Lucca, in northern Tuscany, Italy. Lucca was the third largest Italian city state (after Venice and Genoa) with a republican constitution ("comune") to remain independent over the centuries.[4]
  • Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (English: the Most Serene Commonwealth of Poland; Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae), an elective monarchy in Central and Eastern Europe, existing from 1569 until 1795.[5]

See also[]

Similar titles[]

The monarchs of other countries have received similar titles from the pope:

  • Hungary: Apostolic Majesty (awarded c. 1000)
  • France: Most Christian Majesty (awarded c. 1380)
  • Spain: Most Catholic Majesty (awarded in 1493)
  • England: Defender of the Faith (awarded in 1521 and revoked again c. 1530 by the Pope. Granted again in 1543 by the Parliament of England.)
  • Germany: Defensor Ecclesiae (Protector of the Church; awarded to Holy Roman Emperors)
  • Portugal: Most Faithful Majesty (awarded in 1748)

References[]

  1. ^ "San Marino | Geography, History, Capital, & Language". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  2. ^ Parker, G. (2004). Sovereign City: The City-state Through History. London, UK: Reaktion Books Ltd. pp. 78. ISBN 9781861892195.
  3. ^ Dauverd, Céline (2014). Imperial Ambition in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Genoese Merchants and the Spanish Crown. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 318. ISBN 9781107062368.
  4. ^ Busching, Federico (1777). Nuova geografia di Ant. Federico Busching. Venice, Italy: Antonio Zatta.
  5. ^ Antoine-François-Claude Ferrand (1820). "Volume 1". Histoire des trois démembremens de la Pologne: pour faire suite à l'histoire de l'Anarchie de Pologne par Rulhière. Paris, France: Deterville. p. 182. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
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