Between 1481 and 1483, Bembo was the "podestà" and "capitano del popolo" of Ravenna. In this capacity he renovated the tomb of Dante, commissioning Pietro Lombardo to carve a portrait for it. For this he was praised in an epigram of Cristoforo Landino. The latter part of his term in Ravenna was taken up by the War of Ferrara, which began in May 1482. On 9 July 1483, Bembo was appointed ambassador to England. On 13 February 1484, he was made ambassador to France. No details about either mission survive, although Domenico Malipiero in his "Annali" says that Bembo went to England. He had returned to Venice by early 1485, when he was elected one of four ambassadors to pay homage to Pope Innocent VIII. He served a first term as "avogadore di comun" (public prosecutor) in 1486, a role he reprised another five times (1494–1495, 1500, 1504–1505, 1509–1510, 1512–1513).