The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia was set up on 24th September 1750 by the Venetian Senate.
The first Collegio (board) of the Academy was chaired by the Gianbattista Piazzetta. To start with, the four main disciplines of figure, portrait, landscape and sculpture were taught. Then perspective and architecture were added and finally the restoration of paintings.
Many great artists like Piazzetta, Giambattista Tiepolo, Hayez, Luigi Nono (not the musician), Carlo Scarpa and Emilio Vedova were among the teachers.

In 1798 the Academy started to acquire many masterpieces for educational purposes, thus forming the first collection of works in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, which was opened to the public in 1817 and is today considered one of Italy’s major art museums.

250 years after its foundation, the Academy of Fine Arts was transferred in 2000 to the Ospedale degli Incurabili complex in the Dorsoduro district which had recently been restored by the Soprintendenza ai Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici (architecture and landscape authority) in Venice.

The Academy’s library (currently being computerized) is linked to the university and regional library system network.As a result of the Italian Reform of Institutes for Higher Education (Art and Music), in 2002 all Academies of Fine Arts were recognised as institutions of higher education on an equal footing and status with universities.
This means that qualifications awarded by the Academy are now equivalent a university degree.

1600 - 1700 - - rev. 0.1.6