This grand compound, the bedrock of Venetian power, was the shipyard where all the ships of the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia fleet were built. Also mentioned by Dante (Inferno XXI, 7-18), it was set up in the XII century but it was enlarged time and time again to turn it into an efficient and rational production facility. The land entrance is characterized by a magnificent portal, possibly by Antonio Gambello (1460), a sort of triumphal arch featuring columns and byzantine capitals from the XI century, then enriched in later centuries. A part of the compound today is used as an exhibition area for the Venice Biennale.