Il Ridotto ( Italian : "The Private Room") was a wing of Venice's Palazzo Dandolo near the church of San Moisè . In 1638, it was converted at the behest of Venice's city leaders into a government-owned gambling-house . Il Ridotto was the site of the West's first public, legal mercantile casino , opening several centuries after some gambling establishments in China.
18-499: The term "ridotto" (plural: "ridotti") comes from the Italian word "ridurre", meaning to "close off" or "make private". Whatever its etymology, it ordinarily meant the foyer of a theater, where people would go for refreshments during intermissions. It also referred to several illegal, privately owned gambling clubs that offered games of chance to members of Venice's nobility in the city's Rialto District. These clubs came into being after
36-458: A retail and as a wholesale market. Warehouses were built, including the famous Fondaco dei Tedeschi on the other side of the bridge. Meanwhile, shops selling luxury goods, banks on Rialto Square and insurance agencies appeared and the city's tax offices were located in the area. The city's abattoir was also in the Rialto. Most of the buildings in the Rialto were destroyed in a fire in 1514,
54-703: A small area in the middle of the Realtine Islands on either side of the Rio Businiacus was known as the Rivoaltus , or "high bank". Eventually the Businiacus became known as the Grand Canal, and the district the Rialto, referring only to the area on the left bank. The Rialto became an important district in 1097, when Venice's market moved there, and in the following century a boat bridge
72-476: Is a central area of Venice , Italy , in the sestiere of San Polo . It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal . The area was settled by the ninth century, when a small area in the middle of the Realtine Islands on either side of the Rio Businiacus
90-399: The "banker", would then draw a number from a bag, and anyone who had bet on that number would win the game's pot. The game featured a built-in vigorish whereby a winning player only collected 64 times his original bet; considering that every outcome in the game gave only roughly a 1 percent chance of winning for any given bet, this meant that the house at Il Ridotto enjoyed an 8.6% vigorish on
108-644: The Rialto?" at the opening of Act III, Scene I. In Sonnets from the Portuguese Sonnet 19, Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes that "The soul's Rialto hath its merchandise...". The area is still a busy retail quarter, with the daily Erberia greengrocer market, and the fish market on the Campo della Pescheria . A huge variety of fish and seafood is available in the fish market including shellfish , squids , cuttlefish , giant tiger prawns , mullets , eels , crabs , octopuses and lobsters . Rialto
126-492: The Ridotto originally operated was four stories tall and featured a long entrance hall, dining rooms and other fineries like work from artist Gerolamo Colonna . Its gaming tables, meanwhile, were primarily situated in its upper floors. In 1774, Venetian reformer Giorgio Pisani proposed the city close the Ridotto "to preserve the piety, sound discipline and moderate behavior". Pisani's motion passed by an overwhelming majority and
144-567: The Venetian authorities attempted to ban games of chance that had spontaneously sprung up in the city's streets. Realizing it could not effectively prevent citizens from wagering on dice and card games, the Great Council of Venice opened its "Ridotto" in 1638 on the occasion of the city's annual Spring Carnival. The Ridotto was Europe's first state-sanctioned casino. Through combining the interests of mercantile gamblers (who profited from
162-478: The area. The city's abattoir was also in the Rialto. Most of the buildings in the Rialto were destroyed in a fire in 1514, the sole survivor being the church San Giacomo di Rialto , while the rest of the area was gradually rebuilt. The Fabriche Vechie dates from this period, while the Fabbriche Nuove is only slightly more recent, dating from 1553. The statue Il Gobbo di Rialto was also sculpted in
180-406: The casino closed its doors the same year. Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice , Italy , in the sestiere of San Polo . It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal . The area was settled by the ninth century, when
198-513: The casino's tables; one such discriminating injunction, for instance, was that players had to wear three-cornered hats and masks in order to participate in Il Ridotto's games; less affluent Venetians were thereby prohibited from making wagers at the casino's tables. As for games, Il Ridotto is known to have offered biribi and basetta . Biribi was a lottery-like game in which players placed bets on one of 70 possible outcomes. A casino employee,
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#1732773019081216-482: The fish market on the Campo della Pescheria . A huge variety of fish and seafood is available in the fish market including shellfish , squids , cuttlefish , giant tiger prawns , mullets , eels , crabs , octopuses and lobsters . Rialto is featured in the 2012 game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a playable map. 45°26′19″N 12°20′05″E / 45.4385°N 12.3348°E / 45.4385; 12.3348 Rialto Square The Rialto
234-471: The game (average payout = 64*(1/70) = 91.4%). The most popular game at Il Ridotto, however, was the card game basetta. This game was a cross between blackjack , poker , and gin rummy and offered winning players 60 times their wagers in payout. In later years, it was replaced by the card game faro , which would gain even greater popularity in the U.S. The wing of the San Moisè Palace in which
252-413: The games) and government authorities (who sought to legitimize the gambling for purposes of public order and enhancing government revenues), the Ridotto was an early model for the use of gambling revenues to support state finance. According to the casino's original charter, access to Il Ridotto was open to the public. However, due to its high stakes and formal dress code, only nobles could afford to play at
270-493: The sixteenth century. The Rialto is mentioned in works of literature, notably in Shakespeare 's The Merchant of Venice , where Salanio asks "What news on the Rialto?" at the opening of Act III, Scene I. In Sonnets from the Portuguese Sonnet 19, Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes that "The soul's Rialto hath its merchandise...". The area is still a busy retail quarter, with the daily Erberia greengrocer market, and
288-448: The sole survivor being the church San Giacomo di Rialto , while the rest of the area was gradually rebuilt. The Fabriche Vechie dates from this period, while the Fabbriche Nuove is only slightly more recent, dating from 1553. The statue Il Gobbo di Rialto was also sculpted in the sixteenth century. The Rialto is mentioned in works of literature, notably in Shakespeare 's The Merchant of Venice , where Salanio asks "What news on
306-505: Was known as the Rivoaltus , or "high bank". Eventually the Businiacus became known as the Grand Canal, and the district the Rialto, referring only to the area on the left bank. The Rialto became an important district in 1097, when Venice's market moved there, and in the following century a boat bridge was set up across the Grand Canal providing access to it. This was soon replaced by the Rialto Bridge. The market grew, both as
324-407: Was set up across the Grand Canal providing access to it. This was soon replaced by the Rialto Bridge. The market grew, both as a retail and as a wholesale market. Warehouses were built, including the famous Fondaco dei Tedeschi on the other side of the bridge. Meanwhile, shops selling luxury goods, banks on Rialto Square and insurance agencies appeared and the city's tax offices were located in
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