Andrea Loredan (1440–1513) was a
Venetian nobleman of the
Loredan family
The House of Loredan (, ) is a Republic of Venice, Venetian Venetian nobility, noble family of supposed Ancient Rome, ancient Roman origin, which has played a significant role in shaping the history of the History of the Mediterranean region, Me ...
, 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 th ...
. The palace was paid for by
Doge
Doge, DoGE or DOGE may refer to:
Internet culture
* Doge (meme), an Internet meme primarily associated with the Shiba Inu dog breed
** Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after the meme
** Kabosu (dog), the dog portrayed in the original Doge image ...
Leonardo Loredan
Leonardo Loredan (; ; 16 November 1436 – 22 June 1521) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian nobleman and statesman who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521. As a wartime ruler, he was one of the most important do ...
, it is known for its association with
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
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, 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 ( , ; or , archaically ) 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 Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
. 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 (; ), 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 impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...
to sell off the
Palace
A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
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 above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...
for fifty thousand
ducat
The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...
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 Piazza San Marco, 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 squar ...
, 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 Italian Renaissance, Renaissance Italy as a result of ...
.
Joseph Lindon Smith 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
Doge, DoGE or DOGE may refer to:
Internet culture
* Doge (meme), an Internet meme primarily associated with the Shiba Inu dog breed
** Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after the meme
** Kabosu (dog), the dog portrayed in the original Doge image ...
, 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 the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
. In 1502 he was elected
Wise Man of the Terraferma and relocated to
Brescia
Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
in
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
to take up duties as ''
podestà
(), also potestate or podesta in English, 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 c ...
'' (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
Council of Ten
The Council of Ten (; ), 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 impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...
, a role to which he also held later in 1510 and 1511–12.Just before 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 ...
, in which Venice was led by Andrea's cousin, Doge
Leonardo Loredan
Leonardo Loredan (; ; 16 November 1436 – 22 June 1521) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian nobleman and statesman who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521. As a wartime ruler, he was one of the most important do ...
, he was dispatched to the city of
Udine
Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...
in
Friuli
Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...
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 of one of the earliest settlements in the lagoon which predated the development of Venice. Howeve ...
in the
Venetian Lagoon
The Venetian Lagoon (; ) is an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea, in northern Italy, in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Italian and Venetian languages, ' (cognate of Latin ' ), has provided the English name for an enclosed, ...
, ‘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 () 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 original '' Dogado'' (Duchy) and ...
'', 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 ...
encamped near
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) 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 Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
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 countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
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 (, locally ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. Creazzo is famous for its architecture, cheese, and :it:Broccolo fiolaro di Creazzo, broccolo fiolaro (a local variety of cabbage).
The Battle of La Mo ...
outside Vicenza several months later. According to his last wishes, he was buried in the ''cappella maggiore'' of the church of
San Michele in Isola whose construction he had helped to finance.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loredan, Andrea
A
Republic of Venice people
1513 deaths