St. Mark’s Basin, i.e. the stretch of sea between the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Square on one side and San Giorgio Maggiore and Isola della Giudecca on the other, was once one of the busiest and most important ports in the whole of Europe. Thanks to many international treaties, all merchant shipping heading to and from Europe used to pass through Venice.

The Dogana da Mar is a long, plain building shaped like a ship’s bow at the entrance to the Canal Grande. It was built in the years 1677-1682 by Giuseppe Benoni. The tip of the building has a watchtower topped by a large golden globe symbolising the planet Earth, supported by two Atlas figures.

At the top of this globe is a turning statue representing Fortune, with a helm-shaped weathervane in her hand. This statue by Bernardo Falcone is thought to have been not just a useful wind direction tool for the ships entering and leaving the port, but also a means of reminding them of the unpredictability of Fate.

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