Naval History Museum Museum
Museum of the Italian Navy near the Arsenal, tracing Venice's naval history through models, weapons, and historical vessels.
Naval History Museum, the maritime memory of Venice and the Arsenal
On the Riva San Biagio, right next to the Arsenal, the Naval History Museum of Venice (Museo Storico Navale) traces the history of the Venetian and then Italian navy through ship models, weapons, nautical instruments, documents, and boats. Officially established in 1923, it has occupied since 1964 a vast 15th-century building, formerly a granary of the Serenissima intended in particular to supply the ovens where the sea biscuit loaded onto the galleys was prepared.
The main route unfolds over five levels and 42 rooms. It extends a tradition born at the Arsenal at the end of the 17th century with the Casa dei Modelli, where models used as a reference for ship construction were kept. The collections blend the history of the Serenissima, the evolution of naval techniques, and the history of the Italian Navy: artillery, weapons, models of galleys and ships, gondolas, maritime ex-votos, and testimonies of distant voyages.
The museum also possesses a remarkable series of eighteen relief models of Venetian fortresses of the Adriatic and the Aegean, created between the late 16th and early 17th century. In front of the building are two large anchors from the Austro-Hungarian battleships SMS Tegetthoff and SMS Viribus Unitis, both linked to the First World War.
Since its reopening on 30 March 2025, the Padiglione delle Navi completes the visit. Located in the former officine dei remèri of the Arsenal, where the oars of galleys and galleasses were made, this space of about 3,000 m² presents lagoon boats, working and ceremonial boats, military units, as well as part of the engine of the Elettra, the laboratory ship of Guglielmo Marconi.
Visiting tips
The museum ticket gives access to the main building and the Padiglione delle Navi; the visit to the submarine Enrico Dandolo, inside the Arsenal, requires a specific ticket. The museum is closed on Mondays and opening hours vary by season. The visit is easily combined with the monumental entrance of the Arsenal and the quays of Castello.
Sources and further information
MUNAV - Museo Storico Navale ; Marina Militare - Museo Storico Navale di Venezia ; Comune di Venezia - Museo Storico Navale.
Map and route
Near the Naval History Museum and places in the district
In the Castello sestiere
