The old school of Santa Maria della Misericordia is a building of considerable size which covers the side of the final sotoportego of the fondamenta de l'Abazia, in the Cannaregio district; the facade is at an angle with that of the church of the Abbey of Mercy. It was the first seat of the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia, a school (fraternity) of Battuti di Venezia active from 1308 to 1806.
Built in 1310, it was enlarged several times until it took on its
current Gothic appearance in the mid-15th century. The portal was
decorated with a lunette with sculptures attributed to Giovanni Bon,
later removed and now kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Not long after, the School decided to move to the larger site across
the river, while this building housed the Guild of Silk Weavers until
1806.
In its large rooms Tintoretto and his assistants painted
(in several parts later joined together on site) the Paradise that
adorns the back wall of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio in the Doge's
Palace.
Today it is the seat of the laboratories of the Special
Superintendence for the historical, artistic and ethno-anthropological
heritage and for the museum complex of the city of Venice and the
municipalities of the lagoon edge.