Great Council of Venice
Surians were a Venetian patrician family of Armenian origin and members of the Great Council of Venice. Antonio Surian was the Patriarch of Venice from 1504 to 1508. Michel Surian was instrumental in assisting Pope Pius V with creating the Holy League, which gathered its fleets to defeat the Turkish armada in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Another Antonio Surian, who was widely known as "The Armenian", was the Serene Republic's ambassador to England. The Palazzo Surian Bellotto was built on the Cannaregio Canal by Surians in the 17th century. They were also famous for reorganising Venetian Arsenal.