Leonardo Loredan in the context of "Portrait of the Loredan Family"

A doge (/doʊdʒ/ DOHJ, Italian: [ˈdɔːdʒe]; plural dogi or doges; see below) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and Renaissance periods. Such states were referred to as crowned republics. Doges wore a special hat, the Corno ducale and usually ruled life-long.

The office of the doge in English is termed a dogeship.

A political family (also referred to as a political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics, particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple siblings may be involved.

A royal family or dynasty in a monarchy is generally not considered a "political family," although later descendants of a royal family have played political roles in a republic (such as the Arslan family of Lebanon). A family dictatorship is a form of hereditary dictatorship that operates much like an absolute monarchy, yet occurs in a nominally non-monarchic state.

A panegyric (US: /ˌpænɪˈdʒɪrɪk/ or UK: /ˌpænɪˈdʒaɪrɪk/) or praise poem is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.

The Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (Italian: Ritratto del doge Leonardo Loredan) is a painting by Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, dating from c. 1501–02. It portrays Leonardo Loredan, the Doge of Venice from 1501 to 1521, in his ceremonial garments with the corno ducale worn over a linen cap, and is signed IOANNES BELLINVS on a cartellino ("small paper"). It is on display in the National Gallery in London.

The Panegyricus Serenissimo Principi Leonardo Lauredano, anglicised as Panegyric to the Most Serene Prince Leonardo Loredan is an early 16th-century manuscript written in Latin in honour of Leonardo Loredan, who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521.

The manuscript is a ceremonial facsimile of a panegyric pronounced by Sigismundus Burgus, a knight and lawyer from the city of Cremona. Dated 21 April 1503, the Latin script is elaborately illuminated with a Roman-style inscription of gold letters on a blue background. The placement of the Lion of Saint Mark, a symbol of the Republic of Venice, in the upper margin above the inscription, confirms that the manuscript is an official document. It was acquired in 1931 by the bequest of Henry Walters, and is currently located in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.