Palazzo Vendramin Calergi Historical Timeline

Origins

Andrea Loredan, a well-connected patron of the arts, commissioned the palace in the late 15th century, with construction funded in large part by his relative, Doge Leonardo Loredan. The architect Mauro Codussi began work in 1481; after his death, the Lombardo family of architects carried the project through to completion in 1509, a 28-year undertaking that reportedly cost the Loredan family more than 200,000 ducats.

Turning points

The palace changed hands repeatedly in the centuries that followed. In 1581 it was sold to Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, for 50,000 ducats -- an unusual case of a German noble owning one of Venice's grand Grand Canal residences. The Vendramin family, whose name the palace still carries, acquired it through marriage in 1739 and held it for more than a century.

Influential people

The composer Richard Wagner arrived at the palace with his family on September 16, 1882, renting the piano nobile from its then-owner, Count de Bardi. He died there of a heart attack on the afternoon of February 13, 1883, at the age of 69 -- one of the most famous deaths associated with any building in Venice.

Cultural evolution

The City of Venice purchased the palace in 1946, and in 1959 it became the winter home of the Casino di Venezia, one of the oldest gambling houses in the world, giving a Renaissance palace built for a Venetian patrician a thoroughly modern second life.

Present-day significance

A dedicated Wagner Museum opened inside the palace in February 1995, built around the Josef Lienhart Collection of the composer's letters, scores, and memorabilia -- a quiet historical counterpoint tucked inside a building otherwise devoted to the noise of a working casino.