Lorenzo Marcello (Venice, 1603 – Dardanelles, 26 June 1656) was an Italian admiral from the Republic of Venice. He fought against the Papal Navy in 1642-1644 and subsequently participated in the new Turkish-Venetian War. In September 1655, he succeeded Francesco Morosini as the Captain General of the Sea. From this position he led the combined Venetian-Maltese fleet in battle in the Dardanelles in June 1656. Although he himself lost his life during the battle, it resulted in the greatest Venetian victory since the Battle of Lepanto. Biography Origins and career He was born to Andrea di Iacopo Marcello (branch of San Polo, residing in San Vidal) and Elena di Girolamo Priuli (branch of San Maurizio). He was the fourth of eight children. Of the four males, it was Giacomo (1593 - 1648) who carried on the family's name, by marrying Lucrezia Bembo and producing offspring with her. Attracted by the sea since his youth, in 1618 he embarked as a "nobleman" in the galley of the Provveditore dell'armata, Antonio Pisani. After a year of apprenticeship, he embraced a career inn the navy: on March 2, 1625, he was appointed captain (sopracomito) of a galley and on May 7, 1628 he was elected patron dell'Arsenale. On 16 June 1630 he was named captain (governatore) of a ship of the line, and undertook his first military jobs escorting merchant ships to Syria and fighting the Turks in the Aegean and the Cyclades. On 30 April 1634 he was appointed captain of the guard of the Kingdom of Candia and led an intense campaign against the pirates who infested this area, driving them out for good. On September 6, 1637, he was further promoted to captain of the galleys. With this office he took part in the escort of mercantile ships in the eastern Mediterranean and in operations against the Barbary pirates who, in 1638, had devastated the coasts of Apulia. Led by Antonio Marino Cappello, the Venetian fleet had besieged the enemies who had taken refuge in Valona. On this occasion, Marcello, who was fighting under the guns of the batteries of the forts, was wounded in the arm by a shrapnel; nevertheless, he remained in command of his own contingent until victory, earning the praise of the Senate. Back in Venice, his merits earned him, on 24 August 1638 , the nomination as censor. On 3 May 1641 he returned to