India, May 18 -- One of Venice's most historical buildings is getting a new lease on life as a modern arts centre. The second floor of the Procuratie Vecchie, a building running along one side of St. Mark's Square, is now open to the public for the first time in 500 years in its new form as the San Marco Arts Centre (SMAC).

Venice is already a hub for contemporary art with its international biennale, but SMAC aims to do something that doesn't exist in the city's arts landscape: be a kunsthalle, a space that mounts regular temporary exhibitions but isn't constrained by a specific curatorial focus or theme. "We want to be flexible, dynamic and reactive to what's happening in the world," co-founder David Gramazio told Travel + Leisure. Tha...