The Domini di Terraferma (Venetian: domini de terraferma or stato da tera, lit.'mainland domains' or 'mainland state') was the hinterland territories of the Republic of Venice beyond the Adriatic coast in Northeast Italy. They were one of the three subdivisions of the Republic's possessions, the other two being the original Dogado (Duchy) and the Stato da Màr (maritime territories).
Geography
At its greatest extent, it included the present-day Italian regions of Veneto, Western and Central Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the eastern parts of Lombardy (i.e. the present-day Bergamo and Brescia provinces) up to the Adda River, where it bordered on the Imperial Duchy of Milan.
Venice had conquered the Mestre mainland from the Scaliger rulers at Verona in 1337, followed by Treviso and Bassano del Grappa in 1339. The development of the Terraferma province actually began with the accession of Doge Michele Steno in 1400, who systematically campaigned in the Venetian hinterland in order to secure trade and sustenance for the citizens of Venice. His successors Tommaso Mocenigo and Francesco Foscari enlarged the possessions to the disadvantage not only of the Scaligeri, but also of the Carraresi at Padua (Lord Francesco Novello da Carrara was executed in 1406) and the Visconti at Milan.
In 1420, Venice annexed the Friulian territories of the Imperial Patriarchate of Aquileia from the Adriatic coast up to Pontebba in the Julian Alps. Emperor Sigismund had to acknowledge the acquisition in 1433; four years later he officially ceded the territory to Venice as an Imperial fief. In 1523 Emperor Charles V finally renounced all titles as feudal lord.
Da Mosto, Andrea (1937). L'Archivio di Stato di Venezia (in Italian). Rome: Biblioteca d'Arte editrice.
Mallett, Michael E. (1996). "La conquista della Terraferma". In Alberto Tenenti; Ugo Tucci (eds.). Storia di Venezia. Dalle origini alla caduta della Serenissima. Vol. IV: Il Rinascimento. Politica e cultura (in Italian). Rome: Enciclopedia Italiana. pp. 181–244. OCLC644711024.
Viggiano, Alfredo (1996). "Il Dominio da terra: politica e istituzioni". In Alberto Tenenti; Ugo Tucci (eds.). Storia di Venezia. Dalle origini alla caduta della Serenissima. Vol. IV: Il Rinascimento. Politica e cultura (in Italian). Rome: Enciclopedia Italiana. pp. 465–528. OCLC644711024.