Palazzo Grassi Historical Timeline

Origins

The palace was designed by the architect Giorgio Massari for the Grassi family, a wealthy merchant dynasty that had bought its way into the Venetian nobility. Construction began in 1748 and finished in 1772, making it the last major palace raised on the Grand Canal before the Republic itself fell in 1797.

Turning points

The Grassi family's ownership did not last long: the building changed hands repeatedly in the 19th century, passing to Baron Simeone de Sina in 1857 and through several later owners. In 1983, the Fiat Group, then chaired by Gianni Agnelli, bought the palace and had it restored by architect Gae Aulenti, using it for decades as an exhibition venue tied to the Venice Biennale.

Influential people

The building's most consequential owner arrived in 2005, when French businessman Francois Pinault -- founder of the luxury group that owns Gucci and Christie's -- bought the palace for a reported 29 million euros to house part of his contemporary art collection. He commissioned the Japanese architect Tadao Ando to renovate the interior, keeping Massari's 18th-century facade and courtyard while rebuilding the galleries inside.

Cultural evolution

Under Pinault, Palazzo Grassi shifted from an occasional exhibition space into a full-time contemporary art museum, its 18th-century frescoed stairwell and ceilings -- painted by Michelangelo Morlaiter, Francesco Zanchi, Giambattista Canal, and Christian Griepenkerl -- now sitting alongside rotating displays of some of the most prominent living artists in the Pinault collection.

Present-day significance

The palace reopened to the public in April 2006 with an exhibition titled Where Are We Going?, marking the start of its current role. Together with the nearby Punta della Dogana, also part of the Pinault collection, it forms one of Venice's two major contemporary art venues, drawing a different crowd from the Gothic and Byzantine landmarks that dominate the rest of the city.