The Scuola Nuova di Santa Maria della Misericordia was the second seat of the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia, a school (fraternity) of Battuti di Venezia active from 1308 to 1806
The project of this imposing building, which remained unfinished, is
generally attributed to Jacopo Sansovino (who may instead have been
commissioned to continue a work already set by others). The architect
worked on it from 1534, and the works continued until 1583, when the
doge Nicolò Da Ponte intervened to inaugurate it.
The hall on the
ground floor is divided into three naves by twin columns, while on the
upper floor there is a vast hall intended for meetings of the confreres
and frescoed by the school of Paolo Veronese. There were notable
paintings that were lost after the suppression of 1806, when the
building was destined for military use.
In the 20th century it
became home to sports facilities and the upper floor hall hosted Reyer
Venezia, the city's basketball team, for a long time, until the
1977/1978 season, when the team moved to the new Giobatta Gianquinto
sports hall.
In 2016, a restoration project of the structure was
concluded.