Great Council of Venice
The Loredan family has been occupying hereditary seats on the Great Council since the Great Council Lockout ("Serrata del Maggior Consiglio") of 1297, by which the membership in the Great Council of Venice became a hereditary title, and was limited to the families inscribed in the Golden Book of Italian nobility. This resulted in the exclusion of minor aristocrats and plebeians from participating in the Government of the Republic.