Contarina Flag

The 17th-century Venetian banner of Doge Domenico II Contarini is the most beautiful surviving Venetian flag. It flew on the dogal ship during the Turkish siege of Candia (Crete), perhaps the longest siege in history, lasting from 1644 to 1669, and astonishing all of Europe.

The island of Crete, invaded by the Turks, resisted heroically, continuously supplied by sea thanks to the Venetian fleets, which were vastly superior to the Ottoman ones.
The original Contarina banner is preserved at the Correr Museum in Venice and measures 6.50 meters in length and 3.20 meters in height.

The Committee for the Commemoration of Veronese Easters, together with other Veronese associations (Comitato Veneto Indipendente and Sindacato Libero), oversaw its reconstruction, entrusting the work to one of the finest Italian illustrators, Oliviero Murru.
He completely redrew the flag, in every detail, integrating and refining the sections damaged or worn by time.

The flag is accompanied by an explanatory booklet, available in both Italian and English, which illustrates its complex civil and religious symbolism.

Information for the public and ways to purchase it Contarina flag in the horizontal and vertical versions.

Download the PDF

Download PDF (English version)

Contarina Dogal Flag (second half of the 17th century). Original horizontal version.

Available sizes:

Small horizontal format:
150x75 cm

Medium horizontal format
300x150 cm

Large horizontal format
600x300 cm

Contarina Dogal Flag (second half of the 17th century). Original vertical version

Available sizes:

Small vertical format:
96x150 cm

Medium vertical format:
149x230 cm

Large vertical format
390x600 cm