Pietro Loredan (1372 – 28 October 1438) was a Venetian nobleman of the Loredan family and a distinguished military commander both on sea and on land. He fought against the Ottomans, winning the Battle of Gallipoli (1416), played a leading role in the conquest of Dalmatia in 1411–1420, and participated in several campaigns against Venice's Italian rivals, Genoa and Milan, to secure Venice's mainland domains (Terraferma). He also held a number of senior political positions as Avogador de Comùn, ducal councillor, and governor of Zara, Friuli, and Brescia, and was honoured with the position of Procurator of St Mark's in 1425. In 1423, he contended for the position of Doge of Venice, but lost to his bitter rival Francesco Foscari; their rivalry was such that when Loredan died, Foscari was suspected of having poisoned him. Early life and career Pietro Loredan was born in 1372, in the parish of St. Canciano in Venice. He was a scion of a veritable dynasty of admirals: his father Alvise Loredan and grandfather, and later his son Giacomo and nephew Alvise, were all distinguished naval commanders in the service of the Republic of Venice. His father was further distinguished by being elected to the highly prestigious position of Procurator of St Mark's. His mother, Joan, appears to have been from a wealthy family. Pietro Loredan married at a young age, probably in 1395, to Campagnola Vitale Lando di Pietro. Some historians report a second marriage, to a Foscolo, in 1422, but as Campagnola survived her husband and is still mentioned in his will, this is evidently erroneous. Loredan commanded the galley which, at Manfredonia in June 1401, the young Michael of Rhodes (known for his Book of Michael of Rhodes) joined as an oarsman. In 1403, he served as commander of one of the three galleys that conveyed the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos () back to Constantinople, after his voyage in the courts of Western Europe. On the return journey, the three ships joined with the Venetian fleet under Carlo Zeno, and participated in the Venetian victory against the Genoese fleet of Marshal Boucicaut at the Battle of Modon on 7 October 1403. Military and political career, 1411–1422 Loredan probably continued to serve in the fleet thereafter, until 1411, when he is attested for the first time as fleet commander (Captain of the Gulf), at the signing of the Treaty of Selymbria between