Starting with the 48th International Art Exhibition titled dAPERTutto (1999), the Venice Biennale has engaged in a wide-ranging restoration programme to create exhibition areas in some of the important buildings on the monumental east side of the Arsenale, the old shipyards and warehouses that used to build and fit the fleets of the Venetian Republic.

The Corderie had already been used for Aperto, the section of previous Biennales which was dedicated to young artists; but now exhibitions and events can also be housed in the unusual and fascinating spaces of the Artiglierie, the Gaggiandre, the Isolotto, the sixteenth-century Tese, and the Tese delle Vergini, that host the new Italian Pavilion. All in all, a total covered area of some 17,000 square metres, most of which gives onto the large water basin of the Arsenale.

The buildings have been suitably restored, consolidating roofing, installing adequate flooring and wiring, laying out exhibition areas and guaranteeing all the necessary facilities (ticket offices, control rooms and some 200 square metres of bookshop space).
View the map >>