The first book on the whole history of Punta della Dogana in Venice, from the 17th century to the present day.
Giandomenico Romanelli, a member of the new scientific committee of Punta della Dogana, has curated this book which traces the functional history (as a trading center) and the iconographic role (in paintings from the 18th century to the present day) of the building which housed the Dogana da Màr of the Most Serene Republic of Venice.
Romanelli, Paola Rossi and J.-C. Hoquet tell the story of the building right up to the moment when Tadao Ando stepped in. His aim was to make Punta
della Dogana the third contemporary art venue in Venice, after the Peggy Guggenheim and Palazzo Grassi.
Designed in the 17th century by Giuseppe Benoni, the building consists of eight bays with a tower at the tip. On the top of the tower is a large gilt bronze sphere representing the globe, shouldered by two kneeling Atlas figures, with a statue of Fortune on the very top. This wedge-shaped building between the Grand Canal and the Canale della Giudecca, overlooking the Bacino San Marco, commands one of the finest views in Venice.