Memento Vivere

❖ The Basics ❖
❖ Name : Giovanni d’Foscari
❖ Nickname : Gian
❖ Age : thirty-two
❖ Gender : Male
❖ Sexuality : Heterosexual
❖ Describe your character in 140 characters or less: b]Property Relocator; Highwayman; Dirty Deeds Done not so cheaply;[/b]

❖ Appearance ❖
Gian is eerily handsome, having dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that appears to fade to a light green... Though smaller than many of his adversaries, standing 177.8 cm (5’10”) at full height, weighing in at 79.4 kgs (175 lbs), he is exceptionally physically fit, with lightning reflexes, and is ambidextrous.

❖ Personality ❖
Gian is a strategist who enjoys sharpening his skills through playing intricate, strategic-based games. He has a sense of fashion, rather expensive taste, and a certain flamboyance. He is good at reading a situation and determining what needs to be done, never missing a chance to act when a chance to do so arises. Gian has a heavy mystical side to his personality. He believes in the divine and also in fate, and his role in unraveling it. His strong personal beliefs and religious undercurrent motivate him in all that he does. Though not expecting others to share his beliefs, he pursues them with determination. He is a formidable opponent. He knows not only how to get under the skin of his opponents, but the decisions they are likely to make; though known to be personally impulsive, sometimes failing to keep his feelings in check. He is an effective military tactician, an effective planner, who is able to get things done, organize others, and take action when necessary. Methodic and ruthless in his ability to extract what information he requires from others or force their loyalty through blackmail and coercion; even if it means slitting an unfortunate’s throat to keep him quiet about plans.

❖ Likes ❖
❖ the mysteries of the Divinity and Fate;
❖ mind games;
❖ observing the fear that one faces when death is too close
❖ intrigue and secrets;
❖ the fineries of mercantile;

❖ Dislikes ❖
❖ his emotions freed;
❖ shoddy-made plans;
❖ his impulsiveness;
❖ gambling;
❖ disorganization;

❖ Hopes ❖
❖ to find his place in the world;
❖ to exact his vengeance upon those that deserve it;



❖ Skill ❖
❖ strategy;
❖ formidable opponent;
❖ military tactician;
❖ effective planner;

❖ Strengths ❖
❖ reading a situation and determining what is to be accomplished;
❖ military skills;
❖ methodic and ruthless;
❖ able to irritate the opposition;

❖ Weaknesses ❖
❖ fashion;
❖ mystical side to his personality;
❖ pursuit with determination;
❖ impulsiveness;
❖ ruthless;



❖ Spouse ❖ --- No wife; no time;
❖ Lovers ❖ --- If he has the inclination and time;
❖ Hopes ❖ --- Not in his plans;

❖ Allies ❖
❖ The Pope and majority of Cardinals;
❖ The Doge, if he needs to;
❖ Lucca Arcasian;

❖ Enemies ❖
❖ The Corazzieri
❖ Nobility


Giovanni d’Foscari is a direct descendent of an ancient, but vexed, Venetian patrician family… Vexed by moral standards and in-grained, or genetic, personality traits that tends to disintegrate familial efforts toward a future.

Born January 28th, 1542, in Ravenna, Gian, as he likes to be called, lives a hard, dangerous life... teetering on the verge of disaster for all those associated with him. He is an expert shot, and is deadly with a sword and dagger; for he is ambidextrous, with a variety of fighting styles. The Veneto and northeastern Italy know him only as the Highwayman... while Venezia tries to tolerate him as home.

With the historical turmoil of Familia Foscari, the annals of Venezia basically exiled the whole family... and the history of Giovanni d’Foscari begins long before he was born on January 28th, 1542.

According to family history, The Foscari originated from the area of Mestre, and had settled in Venice proper in the late 10th century, and the first members of the family are attested in written sources in the early 11th century. The Foscari were not very important during the subsequent centuries, but in the 13th century, after the Fourth Crusade, they became rulers of the Greek island of Lemnos, along with the Navagero family, until 1276.

The family's real rise to prominence began in the early 14th century, when they managed to be included among the 150, or so, patrician families that held the hereditary right to be members of the Great Council of Venice following the so-called "Serrata" ("Closing"). As membership in the Great Council was a prerequisite for holding any of the senior offices of the Republic of Venice, this meant that henceforth the upper nobility monopolized control of the state. The first important member of the family was Niccolò, who owned much property, both in Venice and in the Veneto. His contacts with the princes of northern Italy led to him being knighted by Cangrande I della Scala, Lord of Verona, in 1328, while three years later, he was given deeds his estates at Zellarino, Noventa, and San Bruson for which he exchanged with a “pledge of service”... with that covenant, he was given the hereditary title of Count by John of Luxemburg, the king of Bohemia. Niccolò married three times and had two sons, Giovanni and Jacobello, and two daughters, Agnesina and Maria.

Giovanni enjoyed a long and somewhat successful career in public office, serving as military commander, city governor (podesta), and ambassador. He had at least six sons, of whom the most prominent were Paolo, who became a priest and eventually rose to become Latin Archbishop of Patras, Niccolò the younger, and Franzi Foscari. Until his death in 1412, Niccolò served in a succession of political offices, including governor of Corfu and Verona, ducal councilor, and finally a member of the powerful Council of Ten. The eldest of his six children was the future doge Francesco Foscari. Franzi Foscari also followed a distinguished career until his death in 1424, and his son Polidoro Foscari rose to become Archbishop of Zara.

The family reached its zenith under Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice from 1423 to 1457, when he was forced to abdicate by the Council of Ten. Francesco Foscari's dogeship was marked by Venice's expansion in the terraferma and its wars with the Duchy of Milan, but also by the increasingly autocratic rule of the Doge, and the trials and exile of his son Jacopo Foscari for bribery and corruption. Jacopo's misdeeds, actual and alleged, provided a means for the Doge's political opponents to attack him, and played a major role in Francesco's own downfall. The tragic spectacle of a father, acting as head of state, forced to send his only surviving son into exile caused the additional infamous notoriety. The family continued after that, but never recovered its former prominence.

Also in Ravenna, there lived a young woman, Elisabetta d’Foscari della Ravenna, who was a proclaimed direct descendent of Jacopo Foscari, and great-granddaughter of Stefania Foscari. Too late to interrogate, Elisabetta died giving birth to a son; though she was married to Enrico Tansuro, a Ravenna Legate’s younger brother. And as such, she was accused of an affair (Allesandro Zafoni) that resulted in the birth of son that would take her life in childbirth. Declared a bastard by Enrico, it would be the handmaid (Maria), who was in love with, and assisted by Giulio, who entered the child’s name, Giovanni d’Foscari, in the Church registry, based upon the dying mother’s wishes.

Giulio and Maria Fanutio then took the newborn to Bassano del Grapa, where Chiesa della Saint John il Battista provided them sanctuary. The boy grew up there under the auspices of the Catholic Church and educated in the finest schools in the city. When Gian turned twenty, Maria told him of his infamous heritage, his mother and her circumstances, and how she died. Then taking the surname of his mother and his legacy, Giovanni d’Foscari, he left the home of his foster parents, and began a life of his own.

There were certain goals in life he desired... and he would obtain them by any means necessary.

❖ Family ❖
Familia Foscari is an ancient noble family from Venice... thru the years:

❖ Residence ❖
Ca' Foscari, originally a Byzantine palace, was destroyed and rebuilt in late Venetian gothic style; the building was chosen for its position on the Grande Canale. It is a typical example of the residence of the Venetian nobles and merchants; its structure is one of the most imposing buildings of the city and its external courtyard is the biggest courtyard of a private house, with one exception, the Palazzo Ducale. In commonality with other palaces, Ca' Foscari's principal, and most decorated facade and entrance, faces the Grand Canal - the city's main thoroughfare.

And so as it is with Ca'Foscari: