Opened at the end of 2020 under the name of Ca’ Scarpa, the former Church of Santa Maria Nova, dating back to the second half of the 16th century, is now an exhibition space and vital center of activity that is substantiated, in the orbit of the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, by the proximity of Carlo and Tobia Scarpa.

The restoration intervention, supervised by architect Tobia Scarpa, has been able to stitch up the tears produced in the building by the presence of heterogeneous functions at different historical moments, starting with the recovery of the large metal structure, already present, reused to divide the internal volume into four floors, equal and independent. The closure of the openings on the attics made it possible to reappropriate the entire surface area on the floors, maintaining open and flexible spaces that are well adapted to the new exhibition needs. The rooms are put in direct communication by a new staircase that, like a thin ribbon, runs from the ground floor to the upper floors. Made of iron and concrete, made integral to form a structure with a limiting thickness of 8 centimeters, the staircase is complemented by the parapets with thin vertical bars that accompany it and that wrap around the perimeter of all the decks, allowing overlooking at any point, and to observe the “mute” capitals of the two monumental stone columns.

A fundamental role for the perception of the space and for a better enjoyment of the works that are exhibited from time to time was played by the design of all the lighting fixtures, formed by two lamps that can be rotated and “dimmed” separately.
On the top floor, where a 50-seat hall, also suitable for projections and videoconferences, has been arranged, the lamps are configured as long luminous wooden “tubes” grafted between the chains of the trusses, with the ability to rotate 180 degrees and direct the beam of light at will by manually adjusting the tilt.
For the lighting of the staircase Tobia Scarpa created a light installation, ceiling to floor, of great impact and technical sophistication, in a combination of light bars, wood and small gold leaf details.