The family of Loredan were a noble family of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

. The family contributed three Doge

Doge

Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....

s: Leonardo Loredan (1501–1521), Pietro Loredan

Pietro Loredan (doge)

Pietro Loredan was the 84th Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1567 to 1570.- Family :Pietro Loredan came from an important family of Venice, from a branch with Leonardo Loredan, the 75th Doge...

 (1567–1570), and Francesco Loredan

Francesco Loredan

Francesco Loredan was a Venetian statesman; he served as the 116th Doge of Venice from March 18, 1752 until his death...

 (1752–1762), of whom only the first truly set his mark on the history of Venice

History of Venice

Venice is a city in Italy. It was also an independent republic from the late 8th century to 1792.*For the history of the city, see History of the city of Venice.*For the Republic, see History of the Republic of Venice....

; the Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan

Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan

The Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, dating from 1501. It is on display in the National Gallery in London....

by Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini, and his brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. He is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it...

 (1501) makes his face familiar still.

The Venetian admiral Pietro Loredan

Pietro Loredan

Pietro Loredan was a Venetian nobleman and admiral.Loredan was responsible for making Venice a dominant power in northeastern Italy in the 15th century. His first great victory was over the Ottoman Turks near Gallipoli in June 1416. He later triumphed over rival Genoa near Rapallo in 1431...

 (died 1439) achieved two great victories, against the two rivals for power in the Mediterranean: over the Ottoman Turks

Ottoman Turks

The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

 near Gallipoli

Gallipoli

The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...

 in June 1416. and over the Republic of Genoa

Republic of Genoa

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....

 near Rapallo

Rapallo

Rapallo is a municipality in the province of Genoa, in Liguria, northern Italy. As of 2007 it counts approximately 34,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Tigullio Gulf and is located in between Portofino and Chiavari....

 in 1431. His try at being elected Doge

Doge

Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....

 was unsuccessful in 1433: he was defeated by his lifelong rival Francesco Foscari

Francesco Foscari

Francesco Foscari was doge of Venice from 1423 to 1457, at the inception of the Italian Renaissance.-Biography:Foscari, of an ancient noble family, served the Republic of Venice in numerous official capacities—as ambassador, president of the Forty, member of the Council of Ten, inquisitor,...

. Loredan was named general of the republic in 1436 during a war with Mantua

Mantua

Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...

 and was elected generalissimo in 1438, and was assassinated the following year.

The great collector in the family was Andrea Loredan who constructed a palazzo on the Cannaregio

Cannaregio

Cannaregio is the northernmost of the six historic sestieri of Venice. It is the second largest sestiere by land area and the largest by population, with 13,169 people as of 2007....

 to designs by Mauro Codussi

Mauro Codussi

Mauro Codussi was an Italian architect of the early-Renaissance, active mostly in Venice. The name can also be spelt Coducci. He was one of the first to bring the classical syle of the early renaissance to Venice to replace the prevalent Gothic style.Born near Bergamo about 1440, he is first...

; it was paid for by Doge Leonardo Loredan; it was bought in the eighteenth century by the Vendramin

Vendramin

The Vendramin were 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...

 and as the Ca' Loredan Vendramin Calergi

Ca' Vendramin Calergi

Ca' Vendramin Calergi is a palace on the Grand Canal in the sestiere of Cannaregio in Venice, northern Italy. Other names by which it is known include: Palazzo Vendramin Calergi, Palazzo Loredan Vendramin Calergi, and Palazzo Loredan Griman Calergi Vendramin. The architecturally distinguished...

 is notable today for its association with Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...

.

The Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore

Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore

Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore is a late 15th-century Gothic palace in Venice, Italy, that once belonged to the noble Loredan family. Located in the Dorsoduro sestiere , it was called "dell'ambasciatore" because it was the home of the ambassadors of the Austrian Empire to the Republic.One...

 on the Grand Canal derived its popular name as the residence of the ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

.

Among literary figures, Giovan Francesco Loredan is remembered for the Accademia degli Incogniti

Accademia degli Incogniti

The Accademia degli Incogniti was a learned society of freethinking intellectuals, mainly noblemen, that significantly influenced the cultural and political life of mid-17th century Venice...

that he founded in 1630 at the age of twenty-seven.

In the terraferma there are numerous Villas Loredan — at Strà

Stra

Stra is a town and comune in the province of Venice, Veneto, Italy. It is south of SR11. It is the location of the famed Villa Pisani located on the Brenta canal.-Sources:*...

 on the Brenta Canal

Brenta River

The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region.During Roman era, it was called Medoacus and near Padua it divided in two branches, Medoacus Maior and Medoacus Minor ; the river changed its course in early Middle...

; at Paese

Paese

Paese is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 30 km northwest of Venice and about 8 km west of Treviso...

, near Treviso

Treviso

Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

, the villa painted by Francesco Guardi

Francesco Guardi

Francesco Lazzaro Guardi was a Venetian painter of veduta, a member of the Venetian School. He is considered to be among the last practitioners, along with his brothers, of the classic Venetian school of painting....

; at Asolo

Asolo

Asolo is a town and comune in the Veneto Region of Northern Italy. It is known as "The Pearl of the province of Treviso", and also as "The City of a Hundred Horizons" for its mountain settings.-History:...

; at Sant'Urbano

Sant'Urbano

Sant'Urbano is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 60 km southwest of Venice and about 35 km southwest of Padua...

, near Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

. The domain of the Villa Loredan at Paese was planted with grapevines in the 1950s by Conte Pietro Loredan; the wine continues to be made under the label Conte Loredan Gasparini.