Luxardo was established on the Dalmatian coast circa 1821, in the port city of Zara, which had for centuries been an integral part of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. At the fall of the Venetian republic in 1797, Girolamo Luxardo was sent from his home city of Genoa to act as consular representative of the Kingdom of Sardinia. His wife Maria Canevari dedicated herself to making liqueurs of such high quality that they won the attention of serious connoisseurs. The Luxardos eventually founded their very own distillery and won appointment to the Holy Roman Emperor.