In order to limit the growing popularity of gambling and to eliminate illegal gambling houses, Venice inaugurated the first-ever public casino in the world. It was 1638, and a room in the church of San Moisè was chosen as the only place in the city where gambling was authorized: it was the birth of what would become the Venice Casino.
Since the 1950s, the headquarters of the Venice Casino is Ca' Vendramin Calergi, an elegant Renaissance palace overlooking Canal Grande, which was once the Doge’s residence and has even hosted the German musician Richard Wagner.
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