The palace stands on the Grand Canal, between the Rialto and San Marco, in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, while the rest of the University is scattered around the historical centre.

Ca' Foscari was founded in 1868 after the annexation of the Veneto region in the Kingdom of Italy as the Regia Scuola Superiore di Commercio (Royal College of Commerce).

In addition, Ca' Foscari was also created to operate as a training college for secondary school teachers of commercial subjects.

[3] Today, Ca' Foscari is still a specialised university for the study of business economics, humanitites and languages.

The university is divided into eight departments:[11] It also hosts the European Centre for Living Technology as well as a Law Center.