Andrea Doria

Andrea Doria , b. 1466 or 1468, d. 1560, Italian admiral and statesman, of an ancient family prominent in the history of Genoa . He started his career as a condottiere and in the Italian Wars fought for Francis I of France. In 1528 he fell out with Francis and went over to Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and King of Spain, under the condition that the independence of Genoa be preserved. Doria became (1528) virtual dictator of Genoa, but even under the constitution that he imposed the republican institutions were preserved. He mercilessly suppressed conspiracies against himself (1547, 1548) and ended factional strife. As admiral of the fleet, Doria assisted the Spanish against the Turks and the pirate Barbarossa . He helped Charles V in taking Tunis from Barbarossa in 1535 but failed at Algiers in 1541. In 1559 he recovered, with French aid, Corsica for Genoa.

Doria, Andrea (1466–1560) DOGE of Venice (1528–60), an outstanding soldier and admiral. He fought for Francis I and Charles V, expelled the French from Genoa in 1528, and took power himself, creating the aristocratic republic. His descendants contributed six doges and numerous officials to the state.