Punta della Dogana Museum

Punta della Dogana, from maritime customs to contemporary art

At the tip of Dorsoduro, the Punta della Dogana forms a long triangular point between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal, facing St Mark's Basin. This spectacular location is not merely aesthetic: it explains the historical function of the place, which housed the Dogana da Mar, the customs office responsible for controlling goods arriving in Venice by sea.

Even without entering the exhibition halls, the walk from the Salute to the tip of the Dogana is well worth the detour. Few places show so directly how the old merchant city, monumental architecture, and contemporary Venice can occupy exactly the same spot.

The commercial gateway of Venice

A customs installation already existed here in the 15th century, but the current building was rebuilt in the 17th century under the direction of Giuseppe Benoni and completed in 1682. Its plan follows the shape of the point directly: behind long, relatively sober facades, the spaces intended for the control and storage of goods followed one another.

The function of the building recalls the importance of maritime trade in the power of the Republic. Ships entering St Mark's Basin thus found themselves facing a complex combining the customs house, warehouses, and, a few meters further on, the monumental Basilica of the Salute.

A former customs house transformed by Tadao Ando

After having lost its customs function, the vast building was finally chosen to house a contemporary art center for the Pinault Collection. Its restoration was entrusted to the Japanese architect Tadao Ando, and Punta della Dogana opened to the public in its new role in 2009.

Ando's intervention is based on a deliberate contrast between old and contemporary. The brick walls, the volumes of the former warehouses, and the large wooden trusses have been preserved and restored, while new elements in raw concrete have been introduced with sobriety. At the center of the route, a large volume of concrete thus forms new architecture without masking the historic structure of the building.

Contemporary art and the Venetian landscape

Punta della Dogana today hosts major temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. The vast rooms that came from the former warehouses are particularly suited to large-scale sculptures and installations, but the content of the visit varies with the programming: it is therefore better to check current exhibitions before planning a visit.

The place is worth as much for its location as for its museum. Walking around the point, the eye moves from the Doge's Palace and St Mark's Campanile to San Giorgio Maggiore, then to the Giudecca. Punta della Dogana thus allows one to read very clearly the geography of this part of Venice, at the meeting point between the Grand Canal, St Mark's Basin, and the major routes of the lagoon.

Sources and further information

• Pinault Collection - Punta della Dogana - history, architecture, and exhibitions.
• Pinault Collection - Venice - institutional context.
• Atlante Architettura Contemporanea - Punta della Dogana - Ministry of Culture.