Andrea Loredan (1440–1513) was a Venetian nobleman of the

Loredan family The House of Loredan (, ) is a Venetian noble family of supposed ancient Roman origin, which has played a significant role in shaping the history of the entire Mediterranean. A political dynasty, the family has throughout the centuries produced a ...

, known as a collector of art. He is notable for commissioning the Ca' Loredan Vendramin Calergi, a palace on the Grand Canal, to designs by

Mauro Codussi Mauro Codussi (1440–1504) was an Italian architect of the early- Renaissance, active mostly in Venice. The name is also rendered as ''Coducci''. He was one of the first to bring the classical style of the early renaissance to Venice to replace ...

. The palace was paid for by

Doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

Leonardo Loredan Leonardo Loredan (; vec, Lunardo Loredan ; 16 November 1436 – 22 June 1521) was a Venetian nobleman and statesman who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521. A wartime ruler, his dogeship was one of the most imp ...

, it is known for its association with

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and the palace today hosts the Casino of Venice. Andrea is also notable for paying for the choir of the church of

San Michele in Isola San Michele in Isola is a Roman Catholic church, located on the Isola di San Michele, a small islet sited between Venice and Murano, which once sheltered a Camaldolese monastery ( it, Monastero di S. Michele di Murano), but now houses the main ...

, also designed by Codussi. In 1513, during the

War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...

, he had to accept the role of quartermaster-general for the army, which had closed ranks near

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

. Andrea Loredan died in the Battle of La Motta in that same year, beheaded by two soldiers who fought over his body. Loved and respected in Venice, the news of his death brought great sadness to the city. In 1581, his heirs obtained permission from the

Council of Ten The Council of Ten ( it, Consiglio dei Dieci; vec, Consejo de i Diexe), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to i ...

to sell off the

Palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

to the

Duke of Brunswick Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

for fifty thousand

ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

s. The Duke had to take loans to be able to afford the grand residence. The '' Bust of Andrea Loredan'', which is today featured in the

Museo Correr The Museo Correr () is a museum in Venice, northern Italy. Located in St. Mark's Square, Venice, it is one of the 11 civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. The museum extends along the southside of the square on the upper ...

, was sculptured by Antonio Rizzo, one of the greatest architects and sculptors of the

Venetian Renaissance The Venetian Renaissance had a distinct character compared to the general Italian Renaissance elsewhere. The Republic of Venice was topographically distinct from the rest of the city-states of Renaissance Italy as a result of their geographic locat ...

Joseph Lindon Smith Joseph Lindon Smith (October 11, 1863 – October 18, 1950)), was an American painter, best known for his extraordinarily faithful and lively representations of antiquities, especially Egyptian tomb reliefs. He was a founding member of the a ...

depicted the bust in one of his paintings, which is today kept in the

Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

Biography

Andrea's career can be followed from the Venetian diarist and historian Marino Sanudo’s writings and from archival sources. Although he never became

doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

, Loredan attained the most prestigious titles in the Venetian government during his lifetime, beginning in the 1490s with his election to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and appointment as the state’s attorney. In 1502 he was elected Wise Man of the Terraferma and relocated to

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

to take up duties as ''

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

'' (chief magistrate) and ''rettore'' (Venetian delegate for economic and military matters) in the city. Andrea’s success in this role led to his re-election as ''podestà'' in Brescia, in which office he served in 1503 and 1504. The following year he was first elected Wise Man of the Council on the judicial board of the Venetian government, and then attained the position of head of the

, a role to which he also held later in 1510 and 1511–12.Just before the

, in which Venice was led by Andrea's cousin, Doge

, he was dispatched to the city of

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...

in 1507 as a lieutenant, but refused the Senate’s request to return there in 1509. This notorious objection led to his enforced temporary retirement to the island of

Mazzorbo Mazzorbo is one of various islands in the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice. Like the other islands in this part of the lagoon, it was the site one of the earliest settlements in the lagoon which predated the development of Venice. However, th ...

in the Venetian Lagoon, ‘in a most esteemed residence, living very honourably, because he was rich’. He soon returned to favour, and served the first of two terms as ''sopragastaldo'' (judicial magistrate), and again on the Council of Ten in 1509–10. In 1513, as ''provveditore generale'' of the entire ''

terraferma The ( vec, domini de terraferma or , ) was the hinterland territories of the Republic of Venice beyond the Adriatic coast in Northeast Italy. They were one of the three subdivisions of the Republic's possessions, the other two being the origina ...

'', he was ordered by the Senate to join the

Venetian army The Venetian army was the army of the city-state of Venice, and later of the Republic of Venice and its dominions. During the Republic's early centuries, it was a force comprising an urban militia. During Venice's imperial age in the Late Middle A ...

encamped near

to rally a defence against invading

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

troops. It was owing to the dangerous nature of this assignment that Loredan hastily made his will in June 1513. His fears were soon realized, for he was beheaded and died in the Battle of La Motta at

Creazzo Creazzo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. Creazzo is famous for its architecture, cheese, Madame and broccolo fiolaro (a local variety of cabbage). The Battle of Creazzo was fought here in 1513 between the Repu ...

outside Vicenza several months later. According to his last wishes, he was buried in the ''cappella maggiore'' of the church of

whose construction he had helped to finance.

References

A 1513 deaths {{Italy-noble-stub