Venice's last doge was named Ludovico Manin, yet he was not the true culprit who led Venice to ruin.
Corfu lay between Greece and Italy and was known as Venice's gateway. In Homer's epic, the Odyssey, it was the place where Jason and Medea spent their wedding night on their journey to obtain the Golden Fleece.
When Napoleon attacked Venice, General Gentili, who had once recovered Corsica, led four battalions of infantry and several companies of artillery to Corfu aboard a squadron formed from several Venetian warships. Those vessels had been provided by families allied with Napoleon.
After occupying Corfu, General Gentili obtained the true key to Venice. Napoleon then issued an ultimatum, and the doge declared an unconditional surrender. France and Austria signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, dividing all the territory of the ancient republic between them. The city itself went to Austria, while France took Venice's mainland territory, with the Adige River serving as the border between the two nations.
The city's new master was also named Dandolo, though he was not Enrico Dandolo, but a Jewish lawyer. Compared with the Austrians, he submitted more readily to Napoleon, though the common people did not see it that way.
After the French occupation, Italian customs began to change. Young men who loved wearing long robes began wearing military uniforms. They no longer groveled at the hems of ladies' skirts, but often mounted horses to practice shooting. Children no longer played at holding Mass, but brought out tin toy soldiers and imitated military movements in their games.
In earlier comedies, italians were cast as clowns. The ending would often feature a very heroic yet very rude German, who, amid enthusiastic applause, would give the Italian a few blows to conclude the performance.
After Napoleon appeared, they could no longer