The museum was founded around the collection that Teodoro Correr bequeathed to the city in 1830.
The design and early construction of the Napoleonic Wing, which closes off St. Mark’s Square on the side opposite the Basilica, date back to the years in which Venice was part of the Kingdom of Italy (1806-1814) ruled by Napoleon. It was built in the area previously occupied by the church of San Geminiano (an ancient church that had been reconstructee in the mid-sixteenth century by architect Jacopo Sansovino), and to each side, by the Procuratie Vecchie and the Procuratie Nuove, the two long buildings delineating St. Mark’s Square that formerly housed the offices and residences of some of the most important officials of the Venetian Republic.
The architecture, decorations, frescos and Neo-classical style furniture offer significant examples of the culture and languages of this historical period. They bear witness, almost in contrast to the ancient Doge’s Palace, to the will to usher in a new era in the history of Venice, emblematically represented by this modern palace of kings and emperors.
