Casinò di Venezia

Casinò di Venezia holds the distinction of being the oldest casino in the world, having operated continuously since 1638 when the Republic of Venice established the Ridotto — a state-controlled gambling house — to regulate the chaotic private gambling that proliferated during the pre-Lenten Carnival season. The word 'casino' itself derives from Italian, and Venice is the city where the modern concept of the public gaming house was first institutionalised.

The winter casino occupies the Ca' Vendramin Calergi — a magnificent early Renaissance palazzo on the Grand Canal whose white Istrian stone façade, designed by Mauro Codussi and completed around 1509, is one of the most photographed buildings in Venice. Richard Wagner spent his final months here, dying in the palazzo on February 13, 1883, and a small Wagner museum within the building commemorates his residency.

Access to the winter casino is by vaporetto (waterbus) from across the lagoon or by water taxi directly to the private palazzo landing. The atmosphere — gilded frescoes, marble floors, servants' staircases repurposed as gaming rooms — is unlike any other casino environment in the world. Games include roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and poker. A summer casino operates in the Palazzo del Casinò on the Lido island from June to September.