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| Punta Della Dogana |
On June 17th, we visited the triangular shaped Punta Della Dogana which is a centre for contemporoary art in Venice. It used to be a customs house for the city, but was renovated in 2008 to what it is today by architect Tadao Ando. It is now owned by both the City of Venice and Palazzo Grassi. The Francois Pinault collection of works which we saw there that day was an inspiring eclectic mix of contemporary art housed by a beautifully renovated historical building.
Here is a great timeline of the architecture of Punta Della Dogana that I found on their website:
15th Century: The customs houses, which were located at Castello close to the Arsenal, are divided into Customs of Land and Customs of Sea. The latter is then relocated to Punta della Dogana, at the tip of the island of Dorsoduro, named “Punta del Sale” because of the salt warehouses which were built there.
1631: Beginning of the building works of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, to thank the Virgin for having put an end to the epidemic of plague, prevailing the previous year. Works are entrusted to Baldassare Longhena.
1677: The rebuilding works of Punta della Dogana, undertaken by Giuseppe Benoni, begin in 1677. He has the aim of building a tower at the end of the island, surmounted by a statue, carried out by Bernardo Falcone, representing two atlases supporting a gilded globe upon which stands the allegory of Fortuna, that indicates the direction of the wind.
18th – 19th century: Punta della Dogana undergoes various transformations and restoration works, in particular those made by the Austrians who invested the building during the occupation and those of the architect Alvise Pigazzi who renovated the building between 1835 and 1838.
19 July 2006: The City of Venice launches a contest for the creation of a center for contemporary art at Punta della Dogana. Palazzo Grassi, under the direction of Jean-Jacques Aillagon, is a candidate in competition with the Fondazione Solomon R. Guggenheim.
27 April 2007: Palazzo Grassi wins the contest for the creation of a center for contemporary art at Punta della Dogana, entirely renovated by the architect Tadao Ando, which will shelter a selection of works from the François Pinault Foundation.
June 2007: Signing of the partnership between the City of Venice and Palazzo Grassi for 33 years. Public presentation of the architectural project by Tadao Ando about the new center for contemporary art at Punta della Dogana.
From 21 January 2008 to 16 March 2009: Restoration work (14 months).
6 June 2009: Opening to the public of the exhibition “Mapping the Studio: Artists from the François Pinault Collection” at Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi.
Arial Shot of Punta Della Dogana
Arial shot of Venice
View of Museum from a Water Bus Pier
By Laura Van Staveren, Anne Charbonneau and Amanda Cox
Keywords: Design History
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