Ca' Loredan Vendramin Calergi is a 15th-century palace on the
Grand Canal in the ''
sestiere
A (plural: ) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from (‘sixth’), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the ''sestieri'' of Venice, but Ascoli Piceno, Genoa, M ...
'' (quarter) of
Cannaregio
Cannaregio () is the northernmost of the six historic ''sestieri'' (districts) of Venice. It is the second largest ''sestiere'' by land area and the largest by population, with 13,169 people .
Isola di San Michele, the historic cemetery island, ...
in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It was commissioned by the patrician
Loredan dynasty, namely
Andrea Loredan
Andrea Loredan (1440–1513) was a Venetian nobleman of the Loredan family, 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. The palace wa ...
, and 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 ...
, with construction starting in 1481. The architecturally distinguished building was the home of many prominent people through history and was the place where composer
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 ...
died.
It houses the Venice Casino (''Casinò di Venezia'') and the Wagner Museum (''Museo Wagner'').
History
Ca' Vendramin Calergi was designed in the late 15th century 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 th ...
, architect of
Chiesa di San Zaccaria and other noteworthy churches and private residences in Venice. Construction began in 1481 and was finished after his death by the
Lombardo family of architects, who completed it in 1509. The twenty-eight-year period it took to complete construction is considered short based on the technology available at that time.
The spacious
Renaissance-style palace stands three stories high with direct access to the
Grand Canal available by
gondola
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...
s. The beauty and balance of the building's
façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...
are exceptional. Classically inspired columns divide each level facing the canal. Two pairs of tall
French door
A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by ...
s divided by a single column topped by
arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
es and a
trefoil
A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four rin ...
window rest above the doors on the
piano nobile
The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...
and upper levels. Opulent paintings, sculptures, and architectural details originally filled the building's interior. Baroque master
Mattia Bortoloni
Mattia Bortoloni (31 March 1696 – 9 June 1750) was an important painter of the early Italian Rococo period. He began his career as a student of Antonio Balestra of Verona and was active throughout northern Italy.
Biography
For many years th ...
decorated the ceilings of many rooms. The palace is locally known by the nickname "
Non Nobis Domine
''Non nobis'' is the incipit and conventional title of a short Latin Christian hymn used as a prayer of thanksgiving and expression of humility.
The Latin text is from the Vulgate translation of the Book of Psalms, Psalm 113:9 in Vulgate / Gre ...
" ("Not unto us, O Lord"), which is engraved in the stone under a ground-floor window, and which is considered the motto 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 ...
.
Andrea Loredan
Andrea Loredan (1440–1513) was a Venetian nobleman of the Loredan family, 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. The palace wa ...
, a
connoisseur
A connoisseur ( French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator ...
of the fine arts, commissioned the palace, which was paid for by the
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 ...
. In 1581, the Loredan heirs of Andrea sold it for 50,000
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 to
Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (10 August 1528 – 17 November 1584) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruler of the Principality of Calenberg from 1545 to 1584. Since 1495 the Principality of Göttingen was incorporated in Calenberg.
He w ...
who took loans to afford it and to host sumptuous dinners for the
Venetian nobility
The Venetian patriciate ( it, Patriziato veneziano, vec, Patrisiato venesian) was one of the three social bodies into which the society of the Republic of Venice was divided, together with citizens and foreigners. was the Imperial, royal and n ...
. However, the duke kept it for only two years before selling it to
Guglielmo I Gonzaga,
Marquis of Mantua
The Marquisate or Margraviate of Mantua was a margraviate in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Constituted by the Capitani del popol, an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages.
The Marquisate of Mantua began with Gianfrancesco I Go ...
, who then sold it to Vittore
Calergi, a Venetian noble from
Heraklion
Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...
on the island of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. Calergi greatly expanded the building in 1614 with a large addition by architect
Vincenzo Scamozzi
Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most important figure th ...
called the "White Wing" which included windows overlooking a garden courtyard. The addition was demolished in 1659 and rebuilt the following year. In 1739, the palace was inherited through marriage by the
Vendramin
The House of Vendramin (, ) was a rich merchant family of Venice, Italy, who were among the ''case nuove'' or "new houses" who joined the patrician class when the ''Libro d'Oro'' was opened after the battle of Chioggia (June 1380). Andrea Ven ...
s, a powerful patrician family of merchants, bankers, religious leaders, and politicians, who owned it for more than a century.
In 1844,
Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Sicile, Duchess of Berry, and her second husband, Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, Duke della Grazia, purchased Ca' Vendramin Calergi from the last member of the Vendramin family line. In the turmoil of the
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
, they were forced to sell the palace to Caroline's grandson,
Henry (Enrico), Count de' Bardi, and many of its fine works of art were auctioned in Paris. Count de' Bardi and his wife
Infanta Adelgundes and the related Dukes of Grazia maintained the home and hosted many famous names of the day. In 1937, the last of the Grazia nobles, Count Lucchesi-Palli, sold it to
Giuseppe Volpi
Giuseppe Volpi, 1st Count of Misrata (19 November 1877 – 16 November 1947) was an Italian businessman and politician.
Count Volpi developed utilities which brought electricity to Venice, northeast Italy, and the Balkans by 1903. In 1911 ...
, Count of Misurata, who remodeled the living quarters and turned it into a Center for Electromagnetic and Electrical Phenomena.
The City Council of Venice purchased Ca' Vendramin Calergi in 1946. Since 1959, it has been the winter home to the celebrated Venice Casino (''Casinò di Venezia'').
Wagner Museum
The composer
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 ...
stayed in Venice six times between 1858 and his death. He arrived in Italy on his final trip not long after performances of his opera ''
Parsifal
''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...
'' premiered at the second
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...
. He rented the entire piano nobile (mezzanine) level of the Ca' Vendramin Calergi from
Count de' Bardi before his departure and arrived on 16 September 1882 with his wife
Cosima Liszt
Francesca Gaetana Cosima Wagner ( née Liszt; 24 December 1837 – 1 April 1930) was the daughter of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt and Franco-German romantic author Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of the German com ...
, four children (
Daniela von Bülow, Isolde, Eva and
Siegfried Wagner
Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930.
Life
Siegfried Wagner ...
) and household servants.
Wagner died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
in the palace on the afternoon of 13 February 1883 at age 69. A memorial plaque on a brick wall adjacent to the building is inscribed with a tribute by novelist and poet
Gabriele d'Annunzio that reads:
:''In questo palagio / l'ultimo spiro di Riccardo Wagner / odono le anime perpetuarsi come la marea / che lambe i marmi''
The Wagner Museum (''Museo Wagner'') opened at the palace in February 1995. It holds the Josef Lienhart Collection of rare documents, musical scores, signed letters, paintings, records and other heirlooms. The holdings constitute the largest private collection dedicated to Wagner outside of
Bayreuth
Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...
. The museum is open to the public on Saturday mornings by appointment.
The Associazione Richard Wagner di Venezia operates the museum as well as the Richard Wagner European Study and Research Center (''Centro Europeo di Studi e Ricerche Richard Wagner – C.E.S.R.R.W.''). It also holds exhibitions, conferences and concerts, and publishes scholarly papers that promote the life and works of Wagner.
The
International Association of Wagner Societies
The International Association of Wagner Societies (''Der Richard-Wagner-Verband International e.V.'', also known as "Der RWVI") is an affiliation of Wagner societies (''Richard Wagner-Verband'') that promotes interest and research into the works of ...
also holds a symposium called "Wagner Days in Venice" (''Giornate Wagneriane a Venezia'') at the palace each autumn.
[Richard-Wagner-Verband International, ''Giornate Wagneriane a Venezia'', "Wagner Days in Venice"]
See also
*
List of music museums
This worldwide list of music museums encompasses past and present museums that focus on musicians, musical instruments or other musical subjects.
Argentina
* – Mina Clavero
* Academia Nacional del Tango de la República Argentina – Buenos ...
*
List of buildings and structures in Venice
This is a list of buildings and structures in Venice, Italy.
A
* Ala Napoleonica
* Arsenal
* Ateneo Veneto
B
* Biblioteca Marciana
C
* Ca' da Mosto
* Ca' d'Oro
* Ca' Farsetti
* Ca' Foscari
* Ca' Loredan
* Ca' Pesaro
* Ca' Rezzonico
* ...
Notes
External links
Casinò di Venezia / Venice CasinoWagner MuseumCa' Vendramin Calergi History, photographs, and a virtual tour
{{authority control
Houses completed in 1509
Historic house museums in Italy
Museums established in 1995
Museums in Venice
Music museums in Italy
Vendramin Calergi
Vendramin Calergi
Richard Wagner
*
*
House of Vendramin