This area has been a location for shipyards, workshops, and warehouses since the 12th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries, up to 16,000 people worked here. The Venice Biennale undertook extensive reconstruction work, so that a part of the building could already be used for the international exhibition in 1999. Following the completion of the reconstruction, there now exists an exhibition space of 17,000 m² in the various buildings of the Arsenale.
