Constance of Sicily, Dogaressa of Venice

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Constance of Sicily (fl. 1220) was a Sicilian princess who became the Dogaressa of Venice from 1213 to 1229 by marrying Doge Pietro Ziani. She was the daughter of Tancred, King of Sicily, and Sibylla of Acerra. After her father’s death in 1194, her brother was deposed in the same year by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who captured Constance, her mother, and her two sisters.

In 1213, Constance married Pietro Ziani after the death of his previous dogaressa, Maria Baseggio. The marriage helped renew a treaty between Sicily and Venice and was notable as the first time a Venetian doge had wed a princess since the 11th century. She was described as beautiful, dignified, and capable, a fitting partner for an ambitious doge. One familiar anecdote says she answered complaints about herself or her husband with, “I have nothing to do with you.”

Their marriage is described as happy. Pietro Ziani had a son from his first marriage who died in childhood; with Constance he had three children: Marco, Marchesina, and Maria. There are three versions of her death: she may have died in the 1220 earthquake; she may have died suddenly in 1228, after which the doge abdicated and died soon after; or she may have lived beyond 1229 and the couple retired peacefully at their palace on Santa Giustina. In 1242, her sister Valdrada of Sicily became dogaressa by marrying the next doge.