Located on the Fondamenta del Canale Vena, Palazzo Grassi is an eighteenth-century building, with different styles and characteristics. It was built between 1703 and 1714 by the architect Andrea Tirali, commissioned by the Grassi family, rich merchants from Chioggia who also became patricians, and had the honor of sitting in the Maggior Consiglio in Venice. In 1851 Palazzo Grassi was purchased by the bishop Jacopo Dè Foretti from a certain Zadra di Pontelongo di Padova, who had become its owner after the sale by the Grassi family, and donated to the municipality, of which Antonio Naccari was then podestà, so that it could be used as a hospital. However, a fire in the old town hall forced Palazzo Grassi to be used as a temporary seat for municipal offices and it was only after 1855 that its destination as a hospital became operational.
In the first half of the twentieth century, in 1941 and 1947, the south wing and the east wing were added to the main historical body, always for hospital use. Palazzo Grassi maintained its role as a hospital for a long time and only towards the end of the 1990s did the Municipality of Chioggia finance its restoration and change its intended use. Since September 2001, thanks to an agreement with the Municipality, which remains its owner, the University of Padua has used this building, returned to its ancient splendor thanks to the magnificent restoration, as the headquarters of its educational activities in Chioggia.
Since 2011, on the second and third floors of the Palace, it is possible to visit the rooms of the Museum of Adriatic Zoology. The Museum aims to be a meeting place for researchers and citizens, to share traditions and scientific research that for centuries have been the invaluable heritage of Chioggia and its lagoon.