The Venetian Doge who destroyed the Parthenon and kept his cat forever

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Francesco Morosini was a celebrated Venetian commander whose military career was defined by both brilliant conquests and catastrophic destruction. While he became a national hero for his campaigns against the Ottoman Empire, he is remembered today for the accidental ruin of the Parthenon and an eccentric, taxidermied feline companion.

Born in 1619, Francesco Morosini emerged from a prominent noble family to become one of Venice’s most significant military leaders. His early career was marked by the grueling siege of Candia on Crete, where he served as Captain-General. Despite being forced to surrender the city, he survived accusations of treason and cowardice, eventually rising to the position of Doge of Venice in 1688. His reputation for military prowess was cemented during the Morean War, where he led campaigns across Greece, capturing the Morea and parts of the western region.

Morosini’s legacy is inextricably linked to the destruction of the Parthenon in 1687. During a Venetian bombardment of Athens, a mortar shell struck the temple, which the Ottoman Army was using as a gunpowder magazine. The resulting explosion caused immense damage to the ancient structure. While a Swedish officer under his command lamented the destruction of a three-thousand-year-old monument, Morosini famously characterized the event in his official report as a fortunate shot. His attempts to secure spoils from the site were equally destructive; he tried to remove sculptures from the western pediment, only for them to fall and shatter.

Beyond his military exploits, Morosini remains a figure of historical curiosity. He was the first living Venetian citizen to have a bronze bust placed in the Great Hall, and his name has been honored through various naval vessels, including an ironclad launched in 1885. Perhaps most unusually, his affection for his cat, Nini, persists today. Upon his death in 1694, the cat was embalmed with a mouse between its paws, a macabre tribute that remains on display at the Museo Correr in Venice, standing in stark contrast to his reputation as a ruthless commander of the seas.

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