Punta della Dogana stands at the tip of an island in Venice's Dorsoduro district, where the Grand and Giudecca Canals meet. Giuseppe Benoni designed the original Dogana da Mar, built from 1678 to 1682. Tadao Ando restored it from January 2008 to March 2009, and it opened on June 6, 2009. François Pinault funded the 20 million euro restoration under a 33-year agreement with the city, which owns it.
The exterior is stuccoed brick, and Ando added exposed and polished concrete floors, skylights and glass and steel fixtures. One critic described its industrial and minimalist soul.
Two statues of Atlas hold a golden globe with Fortune, which turns in the wind.
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