On the 29th of November, 1567, Pietro was elected doge, which came to his surprise. "A man of 85 years, but very prosperous”, wrote of him the papal nuncio Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, who would later become Pope Innocent IX. Considered a figure of little political importance, his dogeship was considered the most suitable because it was transitory and politically harmless. Religious and morally upright, educated, and of uncommon wisdom, Pietro, reluctant at the beginning, in the two and a half years of his reign showed recognized gifts of balance and prudence. Although it was known that he was "of good will but little knowledge of matters of public government", some chroniclers pointed out that if his advice were listened to in the dramatic circumstances of those years, the state would benefit. After his election, Ottoman threats against Venetian Cyprus grew more and more, so much so as to temporarily quell the disputes of a judicial nature between Venice and the Holy See. Pietro showed a strong commitment to cope with the famine that struck Venice during his reign, as well as with the fire, considered arson, which devastated the Arsenal in 1569. In the spring of 1570, the Ottomans had intensified their preparations for war against Cyprus, which Venice was preparing to defend.