Origin Anna was born in
Venice,
Republic of Venice, on an unknown date, as a member of the
House of Dandolo, which ruled in
Venice. She was the daughter of
Rainero Dandolo, Vice-
Doge of Venice, and
Procurator of San Marco. Her paternal grandfather was
Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice, who had earlier made incursions into Zadar (1202) and Constantinople (1204). In 1209, her father was killed in battle against the
Genoese during the conquest of
Candia.
Queen of Serbia In about 1216 or 1217, she married Stefan, the
Grand Prince of Serbia and son of
Stefan Nemanja, in a magnificent ceremony which was celebrated in Venice and attended by all the patrician families in the republic. Following the splendid festivities held in their honour, the bridal couple were then transported with much fanfare by
galley to
Dalmatia. Anna was his second wife; his first,
Eudokia Angelina, from whom he had separated for alleged adultery, had died in 1211. The marriage of Stefan to a woman from the powerful maritime republic of Venice was politically advantageous to Serbia; the alliance also strengthened
Orthodox Serbia's ties to the west and brought a strong Latin influence to the country through the Venetian artisans who followed in Anna's wake. In 1217, Stefan was crowned the first king of Serbia by
Archbishop Sava, and Anna became the first queen. Shortly before his death on 24 September 1228, King Stefan took monastic vows. Anna lived until 1258, long enough to see her only son, Stephen Uroš succeed to the Serbian throne in 1243 following the deposition of his half-brother,
Stefan Vladislav I. Stephen Uroš I married
Helen of Anjou, by whom he had issue. It is believed that Anna died in 1258. She was buried in the
Sopoćani monastery, a royal mausoleum where Stefan the First-Crowned and other descendants were buried. The
fresco depiction of her death is of valuable historical significance and has been described as "one of the most important historical compositions painted on the walls of Serbian medieval churches", depicted on the north wall. ==Family and legacy==