The Captain of the Gulf (Venetian: Capitan del Golfo; Italian: Capitano in/del Golfo) was a senior naval command of the Republic of Venice. The post was established around 1330, when a squadron of ships was set up to patrol the "Gulf of Venice" (the Adriatic Sea) and provide protection for commerce there. Neither the squadron nor the post of Captain were permanent in the sense of a modern, standing formation. Every winter, the standing committees of the Great Council of Venice established the annual orders for the so-called "guard fleet", or "fleet of the Gulf". The Great Council then voted on the proposals, the size of the fleet, and the appointment of a Captain of the Gulf and the captains (sopracomiti) for the galleys to be outfitted in Venice. The commanders of the galleys equipped by