As The Art Newspaper reports that the city of Venice has reached an agreement with the Italian navy and it now owns 53% of the 478,000 sq. m Venetian Arsenal. The rest will remain the property of the navy.

The city’s mayor, Giorgio Orsoni, completed the deal on 6 February 2013, creating opportunities for further use for the site that already houses the Venice Biennale exhibition in the Corderie, but which has the potential to host many more cultural projects.

The military complex was the base for Venice’s sea power for many centuries, but remained in limbo after the Italian navy headquarters were relocated to the city of Ancona after the Second World War.