Ridotto

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. Etymology and usage 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 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. Casino Era The Ridotto was Europe's first state-sanctioned casino. Through combining the interests of mercantile gamblers (who profited from 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.