Built in 1810 by the French, the Institute was later re-established with its current name by the Ferdinand I of Austria in 1838.

After the annexation of the Veneto region by Italy, the Institute was recognised as being of national interest and, as Article 1 of its Charter states, “its purpose is to increase, disseminate and protect science, literature and the arts.”

Today the Veneto Institute is an important Italian and international figure in the promotion and dissemination of culture and research. It has two addresses in the district of San Marco: the historic "Palazzo Loredan" (the academic centre since 1891) and "Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti" (bought in 1999 and dedicated to promoting culture).

The Institute Veneto offers scholars a computerised catalogue, making it possible to consult the bibliographic records for all printed works published since its foundation to the present day. There is also a catalogue of all the sixteenth and seventeenth-century works in its library, roughly 1100 volumes of primarily historical and literary interest, plus the 16,000 titles in the “Luigi Luzzatti Library”.

The Institute is also a very active publishing house, the aim being to publish new works and held to be of significant scientific value or that make a significant contribution to studies in various fields.
The Institute has promoted the Veneto Summer School of Environmental Dynamics since 1989 in order to offer its own contribution to environmental research and in 1998 signed a publishing agreement with the prestigious Dutch publisher IOS Press Amsterdam, which specialises in publishing scientific works.

On November 6th 2008, in collaboration with the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome, the Institute organised an important conference concerning the economic and cultural future of the city of Venice.

1800 - 2000 - - rev. 0.1.6