The Scuola Nuova della Misericordia is one of the six Scuole Grandi - guild or confraternity halls of Venice for gatherings of members who shared the same craft or profession, of charitable institutes who assisted the poor, or of religious confraternities.
The edifice, never completed, is by the architect, J. Sansovino - whose masterly work can still be admired in the elegance of the ground floor Hall.

Overlooking the same square and on the same canal stands Palazzo Lezze, a magnificent edifice by Longhena built in 1670.
Across the Ponte dell’Abbazia (the abbey bridge), a little Gothic cloister separates the Church of Santa Maria di Val Verde from the Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia - the old guildhall - in a square still displaying its original brick paving.