The title of the holder of the highest civil office in Venice, Genoa, and Amalfi from the 7th century until the 18th century. The office originated in Venice; in 1032 hereditary succession was formally banned and election was made increasingly complicated to prevent domination by particular factions, although the Participazio and Candiano families provided most candidates in the 9th and 10th centuries, and the Tiepolo and Dandolo in the 13th and 14th. The system ended with the Napoleonic conquest of 1797. The Genoese introduced a similar system after 1339. Democratic until 1515, it became an aristocratic office thereafter and also succumbed to Napoleon. The first doge’s palace in Venice was built in 814 and destroyed in 976. The present gothic building was begun in the early 14th century.