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Biblioteca Marciana

Coordinates: 45°26′00″N 12°20′20″E / 45.43344°N 12.338923°E / 45.43344; 12.338923
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Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
main façade of the historical building
Map
LocationVenice, Italy
Established1468
Collection
Specializationclassics and Venetian history
Size4,639 manuscripts
13,117 manuscript volumes
2,887 incunabula
24,060 cinquecentine
1,000,000 (circa) post-sixteenth-century books[1]
Building details
reading room inside the historical building
Design and construction
Architect(s)Jacopo Sansovino
StyleHigh Renaissance
Construction1537 (1537)–1588 (1588)
Notable artistsTitian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Battista Franco, Giuseppe Salviati, Andrea Schiavone

The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (English: National Library of St Mark) is a public library in Venice, Italy.[2] It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositories for manuscript in Italy and holds one of the greatest collections of classical texts in the world. It is named after St. Mark, the patron saint of the city, and is referenced in official historical documents as Bibliotheca Sancti Marci.[3]

The library was established in 1468 when the humanist scholar Cardinal Basilios Bessarion, titular Latin patriarch of Constantinople, donated his personal collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts to the Republic of Venice with the stipulation that a library of public utility be established. The collection was the result of Bessarion's concerted effort to locate and acquire rare manuscripts throughout Greece and Italy as a means of preserving the knowledge of the classical Greek world after the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. His choice of Venice was primarily due to the city's large community of Greek refugees and its historical ties to Byzantium.

The original building of the library is prominently located in Saint Mark's Square, Venice's former governmental center, with its long façade facing the Doge's Palace. Designed by Jacopo Sansovino and constructed between 1537 and 1588, it is a key work in Venetian Renaissance architecture. Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio considered it "perhaps the richest and most ornate building that there has been since ancient times up until now" ("il più ricco ed ornato edificio che forse sia stato da gli Antichi in qua").[4] Art historian Jacob Burckhardt regarded it as "the most magnificent secular Italian building" ("das prächtigste profane Gebäude Italiens"),[5] and Frederick Hartt described it as "surely one of the most satisfying structures in Italian architectural history".[6] Also significant for its art, the library houses many works by the great painters of sixteenth-century Venice, making it a comprehensive monument to Venetian Mannerism.[7]

Today, the historical building is customarily referred to as the Libreria sansoviniana and is largely a museum. The library offices, the reading rooms, and most of the collection are housed in the adjoining Zecca, the former mint of the Republic of Venice.

Historical background

Cathedral and monastic libraries were the principal centers of study and learning throughout the Middle Ages. But beginning in the fifteenth century, the humanist emphasis on the knowledge of the classic world as essential to the formation of the Renaissance man led to a proliferation of court libraries, patronized by princely rulers, several of which provided a degree of public access.[8] In Venice, an early attempt to found a public library in emulation of the great libraries of Antiquity was unsuccessful as Petrarch’s personal collection of manuscripts, donated to the Republic in 1362, was dispersed at the time of his death.[9]

Cardinal Bessarion’s letter to Doge Cristoforo Moro and the Senate of Venice, announcing the donation of his library. BNM Lat. XIV, 14 (= 4235), fol. 1r.

In 1468, however, the Byzantine humanist and scholar Cardinal Basilios Bessarion donated his vast and precious collection of Greek and Latin codices to the Republic of Venice, stipulating that a public library be established to ensure both their conservation for future generations and availability for scholars.[10] The valuable bequest[11] included the 482 Greek and 264 Latin codices which were transported to Venice in crates the next year.[12] To this initial delivery, more codices and incunabula were added following the death of Bessarion in 1472.[13]

The letter of donation, addressed to Doge Cristoforo Moro, narrates that following the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and its devastation by the Turks, Bessarion had set ardently about the task of acquiring the rare and important works of the classical Greek authors and adding them to his existing collection so as to prevent the further dispersal and total loss of ancient Greek knowledge. The Cardinal’s stated desire in offering the collection to the Venetian Republic specifically was that the manuscripts should be properly conserved in a city where many Greek refugees had fled and which he himself considered a "second Byzantium" ("alterum Byzantium").[14]

But despite the grateful acceptance of the donation by the Venetian government and the commitment to establish a library of public utility, the collection remained crated inside the Doge's Palace, entrusted to the care of the state historian under the direction of the procurators of Saint Mark de supra. Access was difficult and consultation impracticable. To no avail, Marcantonio Sabellico and Andrea Navagero, in their capacity as official historian, and other prominent humanists urged the government repeatedly to provide a suitable location. But the political and financial situation during the long years of the Italian wars stymied any serious plan, notwithstanding the Senate's statement of intent to build a library in 1515.[15] However, with the nomination of Pietro Bembo as gubernator (curator) in 1530 and the termination of the War of the League of Cognac in that same year, efforts were renewed. At the instigation of Bembo, an enthusiast of classical studies, the collection was transferred in 1532 to the upper floor of Saint Mark's Basilica where the codices were finally uncrated and placed on shelves.[16] This facilitated consultation. That same year, Vettore Grimani pressed his fellow procurators, insisting that the time had come to act on the Republic's longstanding intention to construct a suitable public library wherein Bessarion's collection of codices could be housed.[17]

Building

Construction

Tintoretto, Portrait of Jacopo Sansovino (c. 1566). Sansovino was nominated proto (consultant architect and buildings manager) of the procurators of Saint Mark de supra in 1529.
Saint Mark's Square
– (a) Saint Mark's Basilica – (b) Ducal Palace – (c) bell tower and loggetta – (d) Biblioteca Marciana – (e) mint – (f) Procuratie Nuove – (g) Napoleonic wing – (h) Procuratie Vecchie – (i) clock tower

The construction of the library was an integral part of the Renovatio urbis (urban renewal), the vast architectural program begun under Doge Andrea Gritti to reaffirm Venice's international prestige after the earlier defeat at Agnadello during the War of Cambrai and the subsequent Peace of Bologna which sanctioned Habsburg hegemony on the Italian peninsula at the end of the War of the League of Cognac. Championed by the Grimani family, the program called for the transformation of Saint Mark's Square from a medieval town center with food vendors, money changers, and even latrines into a classical forum. The intent was to evoke the memory of the ancient Roman republic and, in the aftermath of the Sack of Rome in 1527, to present Venice as Rome's true successor.[18]

In addition to the mint (begun 1536) and the loggia of the bell tower (begun 1538), the program involved replacing the dilapidated thirteenth-century buildings that lined the southern side of the square and the area in front of the Doge's Palace. For this, Jacopo Sansovino, a refugee from the Sack of Rome, was commissioned on 14 July 1536. Subsequently, on 6 March 1537, it was decided that the area of the building facing the palace was to be destined for the library.[19] This would not only satisfy the terms of the donation, it would also bring special renown to the Republic as a center of wisdom, learning, and culture. Significantly, the earlier decree of 1515, citing the examples of Rome and Athens, had expressly stated that a perfect library with fine books would serve as an ornament for the city and as a light for all of Italy. The construction of the library was also seen as an opportunity to promote the publishing industry by providing ready access for printers who needed to periodically consult the original manuscripts whenever printing critical editions and to make working copies of the manuscripts on which to write notes and make corrections.[20] Many of the manuscripts were later copied to produce the editiones principes (first editions) of the Greek classics in the printing house of Aldus Manutius.[21]

Sansovino’s superintendence (1537–c.1560)

Construction of the
Biblioteca Marciana
pre-existing structures – (red) area of meat market – (blue) area of hostelries – (yellow) area of lean-to bread shops
Jost Amman, Procession for the Doge's Marriage with the Sea (detail), showing the meat market in the foreground and the unfinished library behind, circa 1565

Construction proceeded slowly. The chosen site for the library, although owned by the government, was already occupied by five hostelries and several food stalls, many of which had longstanding contractual rights. It was consequently necessary to find a mutually agreed upon alternative location, and at least three of the hostelries had to remain in the area of Saint Mark's Square.[22] Also, the hostelries and shops provided a steady flow of rental income to the procurators of Saint Mark de supra, the magistrate responsible for the public buildings around Saint Mark's Square. So there was the need to limit the disruption of the revenue by gradually relocating the activities as the building progressed and new space was required to continue. The lean-to bread shops and a portion of the Pellegrino hostelry adjoining the bell tower were demolished in early 1537, but rather than reutilizing the existing foundations, Sansovino built the library detached so as to make the bell tower a freestanding structure and transform Saint Mark's Square into a trapezoid. This was meant to give greater visual importance to the Basilica of Saint Mark located on the eastern side and also make it possible to see the Doge's Palace from anywhere in the square.

Work was suspended following the Ottoman–Venetian War (1537–1540) due to lack of funding in the period of recovery but resumed in 1543. The next year, 1544, the rest of the Pellegrino was torn down, followed by the Rizza.[22] But on 18 December 1545, the heavy masonry vault collapsed. In the subsequent enquiry, Sansovino claimed that workmen had prematurely removed the temporary wooden supports before the concrete had set and that a galley in the basin of Saint Mark, firing cannon as a salute, had shaken the building. Nevertheless, the architect was sentenced to personally repay the cost of the damage which required 20 years,[23] and his stipend was suspended until 1547. As a consequence of the collapse, the design was modified with a lighter wooden structure to support the roof.

In the following years, funding was increased, and work proceeded rapidly. The Cavaletto was relocated in 1550.[22] This was followed by the demolition of the Luna. By 1552, at least the seven bays in correspondence to the reading room, had been completed.[24] The commemorative plaque in the adjacent vestibule, corresponding to the next three bays, bears the date of the Venetian year 1133 (i.e. 1554),[25] an indication not only that the building had reached at least the tenth bay but that the end of construction was already considered imminent. However, owing to difficulties in finding a suitable alternative location, only in 1556 was the last of the hostelries, the Lion, demolished, allowing the building to reach the sixteenth bay in correspondence to the lateral entry of the mint. Beyond stood the central meat market, a significant source of rental income for the procurators, and construction was halted. The work on the interior decorations nevertheless continued until about 1560. Although it was decided five years later to relocate the meat market and continue the building,[26] no further action was taken, and in 1570 Sansovino died.

Scamozzi’s superintendence (1582–1588)

In 1582, following the demolition of the meat market, Vincenzo Scamozzi undertook the construction of the final five bays, continuing Sansovino's design. This brought the building down to the molo, or embankment, in correspondence with the main façade of the mint. Scamozzi also added the crowning statues and obelisks. Since the original design by Sansovino does not survive, it is not known whether the architect ever intended for the library to reach its actual length. Scamozzi's negative comment on the junction of the library with the mint[27] has led some architectural historians to argue that the result could never have been intentionally designed by Sansovino. But archival research and technical and aesthetic considerations have not been conclusive.[28]

During Scamozzi's superintendence, the debate regarding the height of the building was reopened. When Sansovino had first been commissioned on 14 July 1536, the project expressly called for a three-story construction similar to the recently rebuilt Procuratie Vecchie on the northern side of Saint Mark's Square. But by 6 March 1537, when the decision was made to locate the library within the new building, the plan had been abandoned in favor of a single floor above the ground level.[29] Scamozzi, nonetheless, recommended adding a floor to the library. Engineers were called to access the existing foundation to determine whether it could bear the additional weight. The conclusions were equivocal, and it was ultimately decided in 1588 that the library would remain with only two floors.[30]

Architecture

Detail of the façade, the upper story
The Ionic capital of the Biblioteca Marciana with the decorative motifs in the echinus (A) and in the collar (B)
The Ionic base as described by Vitruvius (left) and as observed at Frascati and adopted by Sansovino for the Biblioteca Marciana (right)

Upper floor

The upper story of the library employs the Ionic order and is characterized by a series of "Serlians", so-called because the architectural element was illustrated by Sebastiano Serlio in his seven-volume architectural book Tutte l'opere d'architettura et prospetiva, a guide for architects and scholarly patrons that explained the Vitruvian principles of Roman architecture.[31] The element, inspired by ancient triumphal arches such as the Arch of Constantine, consists in a high arched opening that is flanked by two shorter sidelights topped with lintels and supported by columns.[32] Later popularized by the architect Andrea Palladio, the element is customarily known as the Palladian window.[33] From his days in Florence, Sansovino was likely familiar with the Serlian, having observed it in the tabernacle of the Merchants’ guild by Donatello and Michelozzo (circa 1423) on the façade of the Church of Orsanmichele. He would have undoubtedly seen Bramante's tripartite window in the Sala Regia of the Vatican during his Roman sojourn[34] and may also have been aware of the sixteenth-century nymphaeum at Genazzano near Rome, attributed to Bramante, where the Serlian is placed in a series.[35] At the Marciana, Sansovino adopted the Serlian of the Orsanmichele prototype which has narrow sidelights, but these are separated from the tall opening by double columns, placed one behind the other.[36] This solution of the narrow sidelights ensured greater strength to the structural walls which was necessary to balance the thrust of the barrel vault originally planned for the upper story.[34]

Superimposed upon the series of Serlians is a row of large Ionic columns. The capitals with the egg-and-dart motif in the echinus and flame palmettes and masks in the collar may have been inspired directly by the Temple of Saturn in Rome and perhaps further influenced by the Villa Medicea at Poggio a Caiano by Giuliano da Sangallo.[37] For the bases, as a sign of his architectural erudition, Sansovino adopted the Ionic base as it had been directly observed and noted by Antonio da Sangallo the younger and Baldassare Peruzzi in ancient ruins at Frascati.[38] The idea of an ornate frieze above the columns with festoons alternating with window openings had already been used by Sansovino for the courtyard of Palazzo Gaddi in Rome (1519–1527). But the insertion of windows into a frieze had been pioneered even earlier by Bramante at Palazzo Caprini in Rome (1501–1510, demolished 1938) and employed in Peruzzi's early sixteenth-century Villa Farnesina. In the library, the specific pattern of the festoons with putti appears to be based on an early second-century sarcophagus fragment belonging to the antiquities collection of Cardinal Domenico Grimani.[39]

Detail of the façade, ground floor
Sansovino's celebrated solution to the corner pier.

Ground floor

The ground floor is modelled on the Theater of Marcellus and the Colosseum in Rome. It consists in a series of Doric columns that support an entablature and is superimposed on a series of arches resting on pillars. The combination of columns superimposed on an arcade had been proposed by Bramante for Palazzo di Giustizia (unexecuted) and was employed by Peruzzi for the courtyard of Palazzo Farnese (begun 1517).[40] In adopting the solution for the Marciana, Sansovino was faithfully adhering to Alberti's recommendation that in larger structures the column, inherited from Greek architecture, should only support an entablature, whereas the arch, inherited from Roman mural construction, should be supported on square pillars so that the resulting arcade appears to be the residual of "a wall open and discontinued in several places".[41]

Much discussed and admired was Sansovino's ingenious solution to the difficulty in applying strict Vitruvian principles to the corner of a Doric frieze. These principles required that a triglyph be centered over the last column and then followed by half a metope, but the space was insufficient. With no surviving classical examples to guide them, Bramante, Antonio da Sangallo, Raphael, and other great Renaissance architects had struggled with the dilemma, implementing various, but unsatisfactory, ideas. Sansovino's solution was to lengthen the end of the frieze by superimposing a final pilaster on a wider pier, thus creating the space necessary for a perfect half metope.[42] According to the architect's son, Francesco, Sansovino further sensationalized the design by challenging the leading architects in Italy to resolve the vexing problem and then triumphantly revealing his own solution.[43]

Statue of Apollo (Orpheus?), attributed to Girolamo Campagna

Carvings

The extensive surface carvings of the façade are the work of Sansovino's collaborators, including Danese Cattaneo, Pietro da Salò, Bartolomeo Ammannati, and Alessandro Vittoria. High-relief male allegories of generic Rivers (water flowing out of urns and cornucopias) are located in the spandrels on the ground floor with the exception of the arch in correspondence to the entry of the library which has Neptune (trident) and Aeolus (wind-filled sail). The enlarged keystones of the arches on the ground floor alternate between lions’ heads and the heads of pagan divinities (Ceres, Pan, Apollo, Diana, Mercury, Minerva, Venus, Mars, Juno, Jupiter, Saturn, and Phanes). In low relief, the soffits have either mythological scenes related to the divinity in the keystone or grotesques. The spandrels on the upper floor have allegorical female figures with wings, including Knowledge (book) and Intelligence (celestial sphere) but also Fame (trumpet), Glory (palm), Honor (laurel wreath), Immortality (circle without beginning or end), and Reward (crown). These are in mid-relief, thus creating the illusion that they are further from the viewer.[44] This effect serves to emphasize the verticality so as to counterbalance the long, horizontal succession of arcades.

The balustrade above is surmounted by statues of pagan divinities and immortalized heroes of Antiquity. Built by Scamozzi between 1588 and 1591 following Sansovino's design,[45] this solution for the roofline may have been influenced by Michelangelo's designs for the Capitoline Hill in Rome and may have later inspired Scamozzi's own work at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. Among the sculptors were Agostino and Vigilio Rubini, Camillo Mariani, Tiziano Aspetti, and Girolamo Campagna. Over time, however, several of the original statues were eroded or otherwise damaged and ultimately replaced with statues that are not always consistent with the original subjects.[46]

The Doges' Palace (left) and the Biblioteca Marciana (right)

The effect of the library, overall, is that the entire façade has been encrusted with ancient archeological artifacts. Statues and carvings abound, and no large areas of plain wall are visible. In addition to the abundance of classical decorative elements – obelisks, keystone heads, spandrel figures, and a richly carved frieze – there is a correct and erudite use of the Doric and Ionic orders that recalls Roman prototypes with the intent of giving the building a sense of authenticity. The proportions do not always respect Vitruvian canons. Scamozzi, a rigid classicist, was specifically critical of the arches on the ground floor, considered to be dwarfed and ill-proportioned, and the excessive height of the Ionic entablature with respect to the columns.[47] Nevertheless, the classical references were sufficient to satisfy the Venetians’ desire to emulate the great civilizations of Antiquity and to present their own city as the successor of the Roman republic. At the same time, the design respects many local building traditions, and it harmonizes with the gothic Doge's Palace through the common use of Istrian limestone, the two-story arcades, the balustrades, and the elaborate rooflines.[48]

Interiors

The actual library was always only on the upper floor with the ground floor being let to shops and, later on, cafes as a source of revenue to the procurators. The gilded interior rooms are decorated with oil paintings by the masters of Venice's Mannerist period, including Titian, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, and Andrea Schiavone. Some of these paintings show mythological narratives, principally drawn from the writings of classical authors: Ovid's Metamorphoses and Fasti, Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, Martianus Capella's The Marriage of Philology and Mercury, and the Suda. In many instances, these stories of the pagan divinities are employed in a metaphorical sense on the basis of the early Christian writings of Arnobius and Eusebius. Other paintings show allegorical figures and include Renaissance hieroglyphics which reflect the renewed interest in the esotericism of the Hermetic writings and of the Chaldean Oracles that impassioned many humanists following the publication in 1505 of Horapollo’s Ἱερογλυφικά (Hieroglyphica), the purported key to unlock the mysteries of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The iconographic sources vary and include Pierio Valeriano’s dictionary of symbols, Hieroglyphica (1556); popular emblem books such as Andrea Alciati’s Emblematum Liber (1531), Francesco Marcolini’s Le ingeniose sorti (1540), and Achille Bocchi’s Symbolicarum quaestionum de universo genere (1555); as well as Vincenzo Cartari’s mythographic manual for painters Imagini colla sposizione degli dei degli antichi (1556). The "Mantegna Tarocchi" were used as iconographic sources for the depictions of the liberal arts and the Muses in the staircase.

Although several images have a specific pedagogical function aimed at forging temperate and stalwart rulers and inculcating qualities of dedication to duty and moral excellence in the noble youth who studied in the library,[49] the overall decorative program reflects the Venetian aristocracy's interest in philosophy as an intellectual pursuit and, in a broader sense, the growing interest in Platonic philosophy as one of the central currents in Renaissance thought. It is conceptually organized on the basis of the Neoplatonic ascent of the soul and affirms that the quest for knowledge is directed towards the attainment of divine wisdom.[50] The staircase largely represents the life of the embodied soul in the early stages of the ascent: the practice of the cardinal virtues, the studious contemplation of corporeal matters in both their multiplicity and harmony, the transcendence of mere opinions through dialectic, and catharsis. The reading room corresponds to the soul's subsequent journey within the intellectual realm and shows the culmination of the ascent with the awakening of the higher, intellective soul, ecstatic union, and illumination.[51] The program culminates with the representation of the ideal Platonic State founded upon a transcendent understanding of a higher reality. By association, it is implied that the Republic of Venice is the very paradigm of wisdom, order, and harmony.[52]

Staircase, the Dome of Poetics and the second flight, stuccoes by Alessandro Vittoria.

Staircase

The staircase consists of four domes (the Dome of Ethics, the Dome of Rhetoric, the Dome of Dialectic, and the Dome of Poetics) and two flights, the vaults of which are each decorated with twenty-one images of alternating quadrilinear stuccoes by Alessandro Vittoria and octagonal frescoes by Battista Franco (first flight) and Battista del Moro (second flight). At the entry and on the landings, Sansovino repeated the Serlian element from the façade, making use of ancient columns recuperated from the sixth-century Byzantine Church of Santa Maria del Canneto in Pola (Pula, Croatia).

Titian, "Wisdom" (c. 1560).

Vestibule

The vestibule was originally a lecture hall for the public school of Saint Mark which had been founded in 1446 to train future civil servants of the Ducal Chancery. The initial curriculum, focusing on grammar and rhetoric, was expanded in 1460 with the creation of a second lectureship for poetry, oratory, and history. Over time, it evolved into a humanistic school principally for the sons of the nobles and citizens. Among the Italian humanists who taught at the school were George of Trebizond, Giorgio Valla, Marcantonio Sabellico, Raphael Regius, and Marco Musuro.[53] The vestibule also briefly (1560–1561) hosted the meetings of the Accademia veneziana before its failure for bankruptcy. During this period, the room was lined with wooden benches, interrupted by the lectern which was located under the central window of the western wall.[54]

Beginning in 1591, the vestibule was transformed into the public Statuary Hall by Vincenzo Scamozzi in order to display the collection of ancient sculpture that Giovanni Grimani had donated to the Venetian Republic in 1587. Of the original decoration, only the ceiling remains with the illusionistic three-dimensional decoration by Cristoforo and Stefano De Rosa of Brescia (1559). Titian’s octagonal painting in the center (c.1560) has been alternatively identified as Wisdom, History, or The Soul.

Tintoretto, Diogenes

Reading Room

The adjacent reading room originally had 38 desks in the center, arranged in two rows, to which the valuable codices were chained according to subject matter.[55] Between the windows were imaginary portraits of great men of Antiquity, the "philosophers", each originally accompanied by an identifying inscription. Similar portraits were located in the vestibule. Over time, however, these paintings were moved to various locations within the library and eventually, in 1763, to the Doge's Palace in order to create the wall space necessary for more bookshelves. As a result, some were lost along with all of the identifying inscriptions. The ten that survive were returned to the library in the early nineteenth century and integrated with other paintings in 1929. Of the "philosophers", only Diogenes by Tintoretto has been credibly identified.[56]

Battista Franco, Actaeon and Diana and grotesques

The ceiling of the reading room is decorated with 21 roundels, circular oil paintings, by Giovanni de Mio, Giuseppe Salviati, Battista Franco, Giulio Licinio, Bernardo Strozzi, Giambattista Zelotti, Alessandro Varotari, Paolo Veronese, and Andrea Schiavone. They are inserted into a gilded and painted wooden framework along with 52 grotesques by Battista Franco. The roundels by Bernardo Strozzi and Alessandro Varotari are replacements from 1635 of earlier roundels, respectively by Giulio Licinio and Giambattista Zelotti, which were irreparably damaged by water infiltrations. The original roundels were commissioned in 1556.[57]

Although the original seven artists were formally chosen by Sansovino and Titian, their selection for an official and prestigious commission such as the library was indicative of the ascendancy of the Grimani and of those other families within the aristocracy who maintained close ties with the papal court and whose artistic preferences consequently tended towards Mannerism as it was developing in Tuscany and Rome. The artists were mostly young and innovative. They were primarily foreign-trained and notably non-Venetian for their artistic styles, having been influenced by the new Mannerist trends in Florence, Rome, Mantua, and Parma. The roundels that they produced for the ceiling of the reading room are consequently characterized by the greater sculptural rigidity and artificial poses of the figures, the emphasis on line drawing, and the overall dramatic compositions. They nevertheless show the influence of local painting traditions in both the coloring and brushwork.[58]

For the single roundels, various and conflicting titles have been proposed over time.[59] The earliest titles that Vasari suggested for the three roundels by Veronese contain conspicuous errors, and even the titles and visual descriptions given by Francesco Sansovino, son of the architect, for all 21 roundels are often imprecise or inaccurate.[60]

CEILING OF THE READING ROOM

with Francesco Sansovino's titles/descriptions and the more recent proposals

KEY: (S) = Sansovino, 1581    (I) = Ivanoff, 1967    (P) = Paolucci, 1981    (H) = Hope, 1990    (B) = Broderick, 2016

1 – Giovanni de Mio

(S) Nature before Jupiter, asking permission to bring forth all things, and Pallas advises Jupiter on the sequence
(P) Nature between Pallas and Jupiter
(H) Jupiter, Minerva, and Nature
(B) The Logos


2 – Giovanni de Mio

(S) Theology before the gods, to whom Ganymede presents ambrosia & nectar, demonstrating what Theology does for Faith, Hope, and Charity
(I) Theology
(P) Theological Virtues before the Divinity
(H) Theology and the Theological Virtues before Jupiter
(B) The One


3 – Giovanni de Mio

(S) Natural Philosophy, in the middle of the world, with the Elements, with herbs, with animals, and with humans around
(P) Nature and the Seasons
(H) Nature and the Seasons
(B) Nature and the Seasons


4 – Giuseppe Salviati

(S) Virtue, spurning Fortune, turns to Prudence, to Justice, to Fortitude, to Temperance, and to other companions
(I) Virtue, spurning Fortune, turns to Prudence, to Justice, to Fortitude, to Temperance, and to other companions
(P) Pallas between Fortune and Virtue
(H) Wisdom prefers Virtue to Fortune
(B) Minerva between Fortune and the Virtues


5 – Giuseppe Salviati

(S) Art with the physiognomy that shows ingenuity, acuity, & alacrity, with Mercury nearby and Pluto
(I) Eloquence
(P) Mercury and Pluto and the arts
(H) Art, Mercury, and Pluto
(B) The Marriage of Philology and Mercury


6 – Giuseppe Salviati

(S) Militia
(I) Militia
(P) Pallas and Hercules
(H) Militia and Masculine Virtue
(B) Minerva and Hercules


7 – Battista Franco

(S) Agriculture with Pomona, Ceres, and Vertumnus
(I) Agriculture
(P) Vertumnus, Ceres and Pomona
(H) Agriculture with Pomona, Ceres, and Vertumnus
(B) Attis and Cybele with Nana and Sangaritis


8 – Battista Franco

(S) Hunting where are Diana & Actaeon, with dogs, nets, & other things necessary for that art
(I) Hunting
(P) Diana and Actaeon
(H) The Choice between Study and Worldly Pleasure
(B) Actaeon and Diana


9 – Battista Franco

(S) Celerity, Toil, and Practice & other things
(I) Physical Exercise
(P) Celerity between Toil and Exercise
(H) Industry and Exercise
(B) Prudent Reflection and Mutual Aid


10 – Giulio Licinio

(S) Vigil, fasting, patience & other things that followers of virtue seek
(I) Allegory of Time
(P) Allegory of Vigil and Sacrifice
(H) Vigil and Sacrifice
(B) Vigil and Exercise


11 – Giulio Licinio

(S) Glory, beatitude, & other ecstasies that are acquired by means of hard work aimed at obtaining virtue
(I) Beatitude & other ecstasies that are acquired by means of hard work aimed at obtaining virtue
(P) Glory and Beatitude
(H) Glory and Beatitude
(B) Ecstasy


12 – Bernardo Strozzi

(S) The delight that comes from various disciplines, aptitude, and the good habits of study and virtue
(note: the title refers to the original roundel by Giulio Licinio)
(I) Sculpture
(P) Allegory of Sculpture
(B) Measure of Self


13 – Giambattista Zelotti

(S) Various elements that are necessary to learning
(P) Allegory of Study that casts out Distraction
(H) The Choice between Study and Sensual Indulgence
(B) Diligence opposite Lust


14 – Giambattista Zelotti

(S) The delight that comes from various disciplines, aptitude, and the good habits of study and virtue
(I) Measure
(P) Allegory of Modesty
(H) Virtue and Knowledge?
(B) Divine Wisdom Enthroned


15 – Alessandro Varotari

(S) Mathematics with their instruments
(note: the title refers to the original roundel by Giambattista Zelotti)
(P) Atlas
(B) Atlas Shouldering the World


16 – Paolo Veronese

(S) Honor, in the ancient manner, with people around who offer incense and make sacrifice
(I) Honor with people around who offer incense and make sacrifice
(P) Honor
(H) Honour
(B) Genius of the Venetian People


17 – Paolo Veronese

(S) Geometry & Arithmetic with their symbols
(I) Geometry and Arithmetic
(P) Arithmetic and Geometry
(H) Astronomy, Music, and Deceit
(B) Mathematical Sciences and Intellection


18 – Paolo Veronese

(S) Music with various instruments and bizarre inventions
(I) Music
(P) Music
(H) Music
(B) Harmony and Beauty


19 – Andrea Schiavone

(S) Priesthood
(I) Priesthood
(P) Priesthood
(B) The People


20 – Andrea Schiavone

(S) The Dignity of Empires and Kingdoms
(I) The Dignity of Empires and Kingdoms
(P) The Dignity of Empires and Kingdoms
(B) The Philosopher-Kings


21 – Andrea Schiavone

(S) The Triumph of Captains
(I) The Triumph of Captains
(P) The Triumph of Captains
(B) The Warriors

Note: The roundels by Andrea Schiavone are shown in their original positions. The inversion of roundels 19 and 20 occurred between 1819 and 1839, probably following structural work or restoration.[61]

Later History

Although the procurators remained responsible for the library building, in 1544 the Council of Ten assigned the custodianship of the collection itself to the Riformadori a lo Studio de Padoa, the educational committee of the Senate. Created in 1517, the Riformadori had initially been tasked with reopening the University of Padua after its closure during the years of the War of Cambrai. This involved repairing physical damage to the buildings, hiring new professors, and organizing courses. Over time, however, their role came to encompass virtually all aspects of public education, including, after 1559, the nomination of the librarian, a patrician chosen for life.[62] But in 1626, the Senate assumed once again the direct responsibility for the nomination of the librarian whose term was limited in 1775 to three years. The reform of 1626 also established the position of custodian with the requirement that he be fluent in Greek.[63] Under the Riformadori, the collection was inventoried and first catalogued (1545). For the loaning of the valuable codices, the Council of Ten established stricter conditions which included the requirement of a deposit in gold or silver in the amount of 25 ducats.[64] This sum, already substantial, was increased to 50 ducats in 1558.[65]

After the fall of the Venetian Republic to Napoleon in 1797, 470 precious manuscripts, selected from public, religious, and private libraries throughout Venice, were turned over to the French as prizes of war. Of these, 203 were subtracted from the Marciana collection along with two musical scores.[66] Six rare incunabula and 10 important manuscripts were also removed during the first period of Austrian occupation (1798–1805).[67]

In 1811, during the second period of French occupation (1805–1815), the entire collection was moved to the former Hall of the Great Council in the Doge's Palace when the library, as a building, was transformed together with the adjoining Procuratie Nuove into an official residence for the viceroy of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It continued to be used in this capacity during the second period of Austrian occupation (1815–1866), and after the annexation of Venice to the Kingdom of Italy, it came into the possession of the Italian Crown which ceded ownership to the State in 1919.

In 1904, the collection was moved from the Doge's Palace to the former mint, and in 1924 the Marciana once again occupied the historical rooms of the library.

Collection

See also: Manuscripts in the Biblioteca Marciana

The Venetian government viewed the possession of the valuable codices as a source of civic pride and prestige for the Republic. Little was done initially to favor public access to the library or to improve services to readers.[68] Although inventories were sporadically conducted, no bibliographical material was developed to facilitate consultation until the nomination of the scholar Antonio Maria Zanetti (the younger) as custodian in 1737, nor was an acquisition policy established for the continued incrementation of the collection.[69] Only one new manuscript, a donation, entered into the collection in the twenty years following the opening of the library.[70] A law was passed in 1603 requiring that a copy of all books printed within the territory of the Venetian Republic be deposited in the Marciana,[71] but the law (the first such law in Italy) had little effect due to lack of enforcement.[72] Similarly, the invitation of the Senate in 1650 to allocate funds for the acquisition of new books was disregarded.[73] Nevertheless, a series of individual bequests of private collections began in 1589 and greatly expanded the collection over time.

Bessarion's Library

Justus van Gent, Portrait of Cardinal Basilios Bessarion
See also: Greek scholars in the Renaissance

The private library of Cardinal Basilios Bessarion constitutes the historical nucleus of the Biblioteca Marciana. In addition to liturgical and theological texts for reference, Bessarion's library initially reflected his particular interests in ancient Greek history, Platonic philosophy, and science, especially astronomy. Some of these texts were brought by Bessarion when he arrived in Italy (1438) for the Council of Ferrara-Florence; others were shipped at an unknown later date from the Venetian city of Modone (Methoni), near Mystras where Bessarion had studied under Gemistus Pletho. Among the early codices in his collection were works by Cyril of Alexandria, Euclid, Ptolemy, and Strabo, some of which were rare, if not unknown, in Western Europe.[74] Elevated to the cardinalate in 1439, Bessarion enjoyed greater financial resources, and he added notable codices that included the precious tenth-century manuscripts of Alexander of Aphrodisias' works and of Ptolemy's Almagest that once belonged to the library of Boniface VIII.[75]

In 1454, following the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks (1453) and the ensuing devastation, Bessarion charged Michael Apostolius and Theophanes, bishop of Athens, with the task of locating and purchasing specific works throughout Greece, primarily in Adrianople, Athens, Thessaloniki, Aenos, Gallipoli, and Constantinople, with the objective of preserving the knowledge of the Hellenistic world. He also established a scriptorium on Crete, under the direction of Apostolius, where hired scribes copied the texts that could not be found for purchase.[76] A similar scriptorium was established in his Roman residence where other texts were copied: many of the originals were borrowed for this purpose from monasteries in southern Italy, most notably San Nicola di Casole (Apulia) and Santa Croce di Fonte Avellana (Marche). These included Bessarion's remarkable discoveries of the Posthomerica by Quintus Smyrnaeus and the Abduction of Helen by Coluthus which would have otherwise been lost as a result of the Ottoman invasion of Otranto and the destruction of the library of San Nicola di Casole in 1480.[77]

"Venetus A", BNM ms Gr. Z., 454 (=822), fol. 24r. The manuscript, purchased by Cardinal Bessarion from Giovanni Aurispa, contains the oldest complete text of Homer's epic Iliad.

From the scholar and bookseller Giovanni Aurispa and subsequently from his nephew and heir, Nardo Palmieri, Bessarion acquired "Venetus A" and "Venetus B", the oldest texts of Homer’s Iliad with centuries of scholia, the Anthologia Planudea containing 2400 Greek poems, the autograph copy of the commentary on Homer's Odyssey by Eustathius of Thessalonica, the orations of Demosthenes, Roman History by Cassius Dio, the Bibliotheca of Photius, and the only surviving copy of Deipnosophistae by Athenaeus.[78]

Simultaneously, Bessarion assembled a parallel collection of Latin codices with a relative preponderance of works on philosophy (primarily the medieval Platonic and Aristotelian traditions), history, mathematics, and literature. Some of these were purchased during his legation to Germany (1460–1461), predominately works by Nicholas of Lyra. Other Latin codices were purchased during his residence in Bologna or copied from originals in San Giovanni Evangelista (Ravenna), including the works by Quintilian, Lactantius, Augustine, and Jerome. Of particular interest to Bessarion were the Latin historiographers. Among these were Livy and Tacitus. The Latin codices also included translations of Greek works, commissioned by Bessarion.[79]

Towards the end of his life, printed books became increasingly available, and Bessarion began to purchase incunabula, primarily from the printing house of Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim in Rome. These books included works by Cicero, Plutarch, Pliny, Quintilian, and Thomas Aquinas as well as the Latin translation of Bessarion's own work in defense of Plato, Adversus calumniatorem Platonis (1469).[80]

The Marciana Library now possesses 548 Greek codices, 337 Latin codices, and 27 incunabula that once belonged to Cardinal Bessarion. Among these are codices with works of Middle Platonic and Neoplatonic authors, many of which constitute the most important, if not the sole, surviving source for their writings.[81]

Additions

Allegory of Music in De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii by Martianus Capella, BNM ms Lat. XIV, 35 (=4054), fol. 149v. The manuscript was made in Florence and later purchased for the Dominican library of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. In 1789, it was requisitioned by order of the Council of Ten and transferred to the Marciana.

Major additions to the collection over time include:

  • 1589 - Melchiorre Guilandino of Marienburg: the bequest of the Prussian-born doctor and botanist, director of the botanical gardens at the University of Padua and professor of botany and pharmacognosy, consisted of 2.200 printed books dealing with philosophy, medicine, mathematics, botany, theology, literature, poetry, and history.[82]
  • 1595 - Jacopo Contarini da S. Samuele: the bequest of the Venetian patrician, delayed until the extinction of the male line of the Contarini in 1713, consisted of 175 Greek and Latin manuscripts and 1500 printed books and included works on Venetian history, Law, poetry, naval and military matters, astronomy, physics, optics, architecture, and philosophy.[83]
  • 1619 - Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente: the bequest of the surgeon and professor of anatomy at the University of Padua consisted of 13 volumes with hand-colored anatomical illustrations.[84]
  • 1624 - Giacomo Gallicio: the donation consisted of 21 Greek codices, comprising over 90 works, dealing primarily with exegetics, philology, and philosophy.[84]
  • 1734 - Giambattista Recanati: the bequest of the Venetian noble poet and man of letters, member of both the Florentine Academy and the Royal Society of London, consisted of 216 Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Franco-veneto, and Illyric manuscripts among which were several medieval illuminated manuscripts once belonging to the House of Gonzaga.[85]
  • 1792 - Tommaso Giuseppe Farsetti: the bequest of the Venetian patrician consisted of 386 Latin and Italian manuscripts and over 1600 printed books, primarily literature.[86]
  • 1794 - Amedeo Schweyer, called "Svajer": the purchase of the collection of the German-born antiquarian involved more than 340 manuscripts and included genealogies and Venetian and foreign documents among which is the last will and testament of Marco Polo.[87]
  • 1797 - Jacopo Nani: the bequest of the Venetian collector consisted of 716 Greek, Latin, Italian, French Arabic, Egyptian, Persian, Syrian, and Turkish manuscripts covering history, travel, literature, politics, science, military matters, architecture, philosophy, and religion.[88]
  • 1814 - Girolamo Ascanio Molin: the bequest of the Venetian nobleman, collector and author, included 2209 fine printed books and incunables, 3835 prints, 408 drawings, and 136 maps.[89]
  • 1843 - Girolamo Contarini: the bequest of the Venetian nobleman, consisted of some 4000 printed books and 956 manuscripts, including 170 musical codices.[90]
  • 1852 - Giovanni Rossi: the bequest consisted of 470 manuscripts dealing primarily with Venetian history and a collection of Venetian operas.[91]

Three hundred and three precious manuscripts along with 88 rare printed books were transferred to the Marciana in 1789 from the religious libraries of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Sant'Andrea della Certosa, and S. Pietro Martire di Murano by order of the Council of Ten after an investigation into a theft revealed unsatisfactory security conditions.[92] In addition, during the second period of French occupation when numerous convents and monasteries were suppressed and their libraries dispersed, the Marciana obtained 4.407 volumes including 630 manuscripts.[93]

Today, the collection consists in about 13,000 manuscripts and over a million printed books, including 2887 incunabula and 24,060 works printed between 1500 and 1600. Among the treasures are unique scores of operas by Francesco Cavalli and sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti.

Notes

  1. ^ https://marciana.venezia.sbn.it/la-biblioteca/il-patrimonio/patrimonio-librario. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  2. ^ The library is administered by the Direzione Generale Biblioteche e Istituti Culturali of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
  3. ^ Raines, Book Museum of Scholarly Library..., p. 34
  4. ^ Palladio, Andrea, I quattro libri dell'architettura di Andrea Palladio, 1581, Venetia, Bartolomeo Carampello, p. 5.
  5. ^ Burckhardt, Jacob, Der Cicerone eine Anleitung zum Genuss der Kunstwerke Italiens, vol 1, Architektur, 1869, Liepzig, Verlag von E. A. Seemann, p. 325
  6. ^ Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance Art, pp. 632–633, 633 quoted.
  7. ^ Humfrey, Peter, Painting in Renaissance Venice, p. 194.
  8. ^ Raines, Book Museum or Scholarly Library?..., pp. 31–32
  9. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Libraries" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 573. Also, Pittoni, La libreria di san Marco, pp. 5–10.
  10. ^ Burckhardt, Jacob (1878). The Civilization Of The Renaissance in Italy. University of Toronto - Robarts Library: Vienna Phaidon Press. p. 99. Retrieved 28 February 2019. Also, Pittoni, La libreria di san Marco, pp. 10–19.
  11. ^ In the preliminary letter of acceptance, the Senate valued the collection at 15,000 ducats. The letter, dated 23 March 1468 is in Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., p. 124. For Bartolomeo Platina, Bessarion’s precious codices had cost 30,000 golden scudo. See Bessarionem doctiss. partriarcham Constantin..., s.l. officina Eucharij Cervicorni, 1529, p. 9. Regardless of the differing figures, the value was considerable: from several contemporary contracts, a well-paid professor earned 120 ducats a year. See Zorzi, La Libreria di San Marco..., p. 60.
  12. ^ The full inventory is published in Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., pp. 157–188.
  13. ^ Bessarion’s private library was among the most important in the fifteenth century. In 1455, the collection of Pope Nicholas V, the largest, contained 1209 codices. Significant private libraries belonged to Niccolò Niccoli (808 volumes) and Coluccio Salutati (circa 800 volumes). Among the larger court libraries were those of the Visconti (998 volumes in 1426), Federico da Montefeltro (772 volumes), the Estensi (512 volumes in 1495), and the Gonzaga (circa 300 codices in 1407). With regard to the Greek codices, Bessarion’s collection was unrivaled in Western Europe. The Vatican collection, the second largest, included 414 Greek codices in 1455. See Zorzi, Biblioteca Marciana, p. 20
  14. ^ The formal letter of donation, dated 13 May 1468, is preserved in Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana codice Lat. XIV, 14 =4235.
  15. ^ The decree of the Senate appropriated no funding and was without effect. It nevertheless constitutes the first proposal to construct a library rather than to simply find a suitable location for the collection. The decree of the Senate, dated 5 May 1515, is in Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., pp. 130–131.
  16. ^ Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., p. 75 and Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 108
  17. ^ The act is published in Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., p. 132.
  18. ^ See in general Chambers, The Imperial Age of Venice..., pp. 12–31.
  19. ^ The act of the procurators is in the archives (PS, Atti, reg. 125, c. 2) and is published in Howard, Sansovino…, p. 163.
  20. ^ The decision to begin the construction of the library coincides with the laws of 1534 and 1537 which sought to redress an alarming decline in the book trade and the increasing importation of books printed elsewhere by providing further copyright protection to printers and imposing standards of printing quality. For the printing history of the period, see Brown, Horatio, The Venetian Printing Press: an Historical Study, 1891, London, John C. Nimmo, pp. 75–82.
  21. ^ Rapp, Bessarion of Nicaea, p. 126
  22. ^ a b c Howard, Sansovino..., p. 19
  23. ^ In 1565, the procurators discharged the remaining debt in exchange for sculptural work by Sansovino. The act of the procurators, dated 20 March 1565, is in the archives (PS, Atti, reg. 130, c. 72). See Howard, Sansovino..., p. 21
  24. ^ In 1552, the practice began of extracting by lot the use of the balconies by the procurators and their guests to observe the carnival celebrations in the Piazzetta. In that year, seven balconies were awarded. See Howard, Sansovino…, p. 21 and Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, p. 202.
  25. ^ The Venetian year was calculated beginning with AD 421, the legendary year of the city's foundation on 25 March.
  26. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 135
  27. ^ Scamozzi criticizes the truncating of cornices, bases, and capitals in reference to the junction of the facades of the library and the mint and considers such solutions "indecencies and follies" (indecentie e sciocchezze). See Scamozzi, Vicenzo, L'idea della architettura universale di Vincenzo Scamozzi architetto veneto, Parte seconda, 1615, Venetiis, Giorgio Valentini, p. 171.
  28. ^ Deborah Howard summarizes the issue in Howard, Deborah, The Length of the Library, «Ateneo veneto», Anno CXCVII, terza serie, 9/11, 2010, pp. 23–29.
  29. ^ There are no surviving records regarding the debate, and it is not known what factors were determinative. See, Howard, Sansovino...…, pp. 15–16.
  30. ^ Manuela Morresi suggests that in addition to engineering considerations, the decision to retain the height of the library stemmed from the ascendency of the giovani faction in the aftermath of the constitutional crisis of 1582 and its opposition to the aggressive building program. See Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, p. 207
  31. ^ Serlio, Sebastiano, Regole generali di architetura sopra le cinque maniere de gliedifici: cioe, thoscano, dorico, ionico, corinthio, et composito, con gliessempi dell'antiquita, che per la magior parte concordano con la dottrina di Vitruuio, vol. IV, 1537, Venetia, Francesco Marcolini, pp. 33v–36r
  32. ^ Summerson, The Classical Language of Architecture, p. 134
  33. ^ Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance Art, p. 633
  34. ^ a b Lotz, The Roman Legacy in Sansovino's Venetian Buildings, p. 10
  35. ^ Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, p. 193
  36. ^ Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance Art, p. 633. Palladio would later widen the sidelights in the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza.
  37. ^ Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, pp. 193–194
  38. ^ Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, pp. 193–194. This Ionic base, utilized once by Palladio for Palazzo Porto in Vicenza, is believed to have been part of the Villa of Lucullus at Frascati. It consists in the sequence of an upper torus, scotia (concave molding with the lower edge projecting beyond the top), astragal (half-round molding), scotia, and – after a lower torus – a plinth. See Guerrieri Borsoi, Maria Barbara, Villa Rufina Falconieri: La rinascita di Frascati e la più antica dimora tuscolana, 2008, Roma, Gangemi, p. 13, ISBN 8849214065. For a discussion and comparison with the Attic and Vitruvian bases for the Ionic order, see Burns, Howard, "Ornamenti" and ornamentation in Palladio's architectural theory and practice, «Pegasus: Berliner Beiträge zum Nachleben der Antike», 11, 2009, pp. 49–50, ISSN 1436-3461.
  39. ^ Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, p. 194. The fragment showing the rape of Proserpina is in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia, inv. 167. See also Foscari, Antonio, Festoni e putti nella decorazione della Libreria di San Marco, «Arte veneta», XXXVIII, 1984, pp. 23–30.
  40. ^ The motif was earlier proposed by Antonio da Sangallo the younger for Palazzo Farnese and may have been intended for the Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome. See, Lotz, The Roman Legacy in Sansovino's Venetian Buildings, pp. 8–9.
  41. ^ Alberti, Leon Battista, De Re Aedificatoria, VII, 15. See also Rudolf Wittkower's discussion in Wittkower, Rudolf, Architectural principles in the age of humanism, pp. 35–36.
  42. ^ See Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, p. 451–452 and Howard, Sansovino..., pp. 20–21. Lotz suggests that the inspiration may have been the corner pier in Santa Maria presso San Biaggio in Montepulciano which lacks, however, the corner metope. See Lotz, The Roman Legacy in Sansovino's Venetian Buildings, p. 9.
  43. ^ Sansovino, Francesco, Venetia città nobilissima et singolare descritta in 14 libri, Venetia, Iacomo Sansovino, 1581, c. 113r. See also Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, p. 195 and Howard, Sansovino…, p. 20
  44. ^ Ivanoff, La libreria marciana..., p. 4
  45. ^ Only one statue had been placed during Sansovino's superintendence. See Ivanoff, La libreria marciana…, p. 8.
  46. ^ Ivanoff, Nicola, Il coronamento statuario della Marciana, «Ateneo veneto», n.s., vol. 2, 1964, pp. 105–106
  47. ^ Scamozzi considered appropriate a ratio between the height of the entablature and the column of 1 to 4 for the Doric order and 1 to 5 of the Ionic order, whereas the ratios in the library are 1 to 3 and 1 to 2 respectively. See Scamozzi, Vincenzo, L’Idea dell’Architettura Universale, 1615, Venetiis, expensis auctoris, Lib. VI, Cap. VII, pp. 20-21.
  48. ^ Howard, Sansovino…, pp. 26–28, Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, pp. 150–152, and Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance Art, p. 633
  49. ^ Broderick, Custodian of Wisdom..., pp. 28–52
  50. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 140
  51. ^ Broderick, Custodian of Wisdom..., pp. 21–28 and 52–59
  52. ^ Broderick, Custodian of Wisdom..., pp. 84–92.
  53. ^ Grendler, Paul, Schooling in Renaissance Italy: Literacy and Learning 1300–1600, 1989, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 61–63, ISBN 9780801842290 and Ross, James Bruce, Venetian Schools and Teachers Fourteenth to Early Sixteenth Century: A Survey and a Study of Giovanni Battista Egnazio, «Renaissance Quarterly», Volume 29, Issue 4 Winter 1976, pp. 533-534, ISSN 0034-4338
  54. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., 162.
  55. ^ The Latin section, slightly smaller, occupied desks 1 to 16 and included rhetoric, secular history, medicine, canon and civil law, logic, moral philosophy, the works of Aristotle and his commentators, natural sciences, mathematics, astronomy, Peter Lombard’s The Four Books of Sentences and relative commentaries, theology, the works of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine, and Biblical texts with commentaries. The Greek section originally occupied desks 17 to 38 and included grammar, poetry, secular history, rhetoric, medicine, civil law, the works of Aristotle and his commentators, the writings of Plato and the Platonists, mathematics and astronomy, hagiography, theology, canon law, and Biblical texts with commentaries. See Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 159–161 and Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., pp. 95–96.
  56. ^ Ridolfi, Carlo, Le marauiglie dell'arte, ouero Le vite de gl'illustri pittori veneti, e dello Stato, II, 1648, Venetia, Gio. Battista Sgava, p. 26. In 1967, Nicola Ivanoff identified Aristotle and Plato in the "philosophers" by Veronese and, tentatively, Ptolemy and Democritus in the "philosophers" by Andrea Schiavone (one of which is alternatively attributed to Giuseppe Salviati). However, these identifications are purely speculative and without significant supporting arguments. Ivanoff identifies Aristotle solely on the basis of the oriental headdress, which is said to be a reference to his Arab translators. He also sees a possible correlation in the hand gesture between Veronese's "philosopher" and the figure of Aristotle in Raphael’s School of Athens. For Plato, he references Marsilio Ficino’s imaginary description of the philosopher as being older and bearded with broad shoulders, a high brow, and an inspired look and then writes that most of these features are present in Veronese’s “philosopher”. See Ivanoff, Nicola, La libreria Marciana..., pp. 43.
  57. ^ The contracts stipulated with Giuseppe Salviati, Battista Franco, and Giulio Licinio survive and specify a payment of 20 ducats per painting. Although the canvas would be provided by the Procurators, the artists themselves were to provide their own pigments with the exception of blue ultramarine which would be paid for separately. The contract relative to Salviati is published in Pittoni, La libreria di san Marco, pp. 111–112.
  58. ^ See Humfrey, Peter, Painting in Renaissance Venice, pp. 188–198 and Paolucci, Antonio, La sala della libreria e il ciclo pittorico, pp. 290–291.
  59. ^ For the principal studies and proposed titles, see Vasari, Giorgio, Le vite de' piu eccellenti pittori scultori e architettori, vol. III, parte 2, 1568, Fiorenza, I Giunti, p. 526; Sansovino, Francesco, Venetia città nobilissima et singolare descritta in 14 libri, 1581, Venetia, Iacomo Sansovino; Ridolfi, Carlo, Le marauiglie dell'arte, ouero Le vite de gl'illustri pittori veneti, e dello Stato, 1648, Venetia, Gio. Battista Sgava; Boschini, Marco, Le minere della pittura, 1664, Venezia, Francesco Nicolini; Macedo, Francesco, Pictura Venetae vrbis, eiusque partium in tabulis Latinis, coloribus oratorijs expressa, & pigmentis poeticis colorata, 1670, Venetiis, Cieras; Martinelli, Domenico, Il ritratto di Venezia, 1684, Venezia, Gio. Giacomo Hertz; Zanetti, Antonio Maria, Della pittura veneziana e delle opere pubbliche de' veneziani maestri, 1771, Venezia, Giambatista Albrizzi; Lorenzetti, Giulio, Venezia e il suo estuario: guida storico-artistica, 1926, Venezia, Bestetti & Tuminelli; Ivanoff, Nicola, La libreria Marciana: arte e iconologia, «Saggi e Memorie», 6, 1967, pp. 33–78, Firenze, L. S. Olschki; Paolucci, Antonio, La sala della libreria e il ciclo pittorico in Da Tiziano a El Greco: per la storia del Manierismo a Venezia 1540–1590, 1981, Milano, Electa; Hope, Charles, The Ceiling Paintings in the Libreria Marciana in Nuovi Studi su Paolo Veronese, 1990, Venezia, Arsenale Editrice; Broderick, Jarrod, M., Custodian of Wisdom: The Marciana Reading Room and the Transcendent Knowledge of God, «Studi veneziani», LXXIII, 2016, pp. 15–94.
  60. ^ Schultz, Venetian Painted Ceilings..., p. 94–95 and Hope, Charles, The Ceiling Paintings in the Libreria Marciana in Nuovi Studi su Paolo Veronese, 1990, Venezia, Arsenale, p. 290.
  61. ^ Schultz, Venetian Painted Ceilings of the Renaissance, p. 95
  62. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 119.
  63. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 212–214
  64. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 111–112
  65. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 173.
  66. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 352
  67. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 355. As a consequence of the Austrian defeats in 1866 and 1918, most of the volumes were returned as reparations of war.
  68. ^ Raines, Book Museum or Scholarly Library?..., p. 35
  69. ^ Raines, Book Museum or Scholarly Library?..., p. 43
  70. ^ Raines, Book Museum or Scholarly Library?..., p. 40
  71. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 207. The requirement was part of the law of 21 May 1603 that regulated the printers' guild. See also Brown, Horatio, F. The Venetian Printing Press: an Historical Study, 1891, London, J. C. Nimmo, pp. 218-221.
  72. ^ Only an estimated 50 books were deposited in the 19 ears following the passage of the law. See Raines, Book Museum or Scholarly Library?..., p. 41, note 42.
  73. ^ Raines, Book Museum or Scholarly Library?..., p. 42
  74. ^ Labowsky, Besssarion’s Library…, pp. 6-7
  75. ^ Labowsky, Besssarion’s Library…, p. 8
  76. ^ Zorzi, Biblioteca Marciana, p. 18
  77. ^ Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., pp. 9–12
  78. ^ Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., p. 5 and passim and Zorzi, Biblioteca Marciana, pp. 18–19
  79. ^ Labowsky, Bessarion's Library..., pp. 15–16
  80. ^ Labowsky, Bessarion’s Library…, pp. 17–18 and 481–482
  81. ^ Rapp, Claudia, Bessarion of Nicaea p. 125–126
  82. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 182–184
  83. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 184–187
  84. ^ a b Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., p. 208
  85. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 250–252
  86. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 304–305
  87. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 306–309
  88. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 309–311
  89. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 394–396
  90. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 381, 383, and 391
  91. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 388–389
  92. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 298–303
  93. ^ Zorzi, La libreria di san Marco..., pp. 361–363

References

  • Broderick, Jarrod M., Ascent to Wisdom: The Marciana Staircase and the Patrician Ideal, «Studi veneziani», LXXVII, 2018, Pisa, Serra, pp. 15–171, ISSN 0392-0437
  • Broderick, Jarrod M., Custodian of Wisdom: The Marciana Reading Room and the Transcendent Knowledge of God, «Studi veneziani», LXXIII, 2016, Pisa, Serra, pp. 15–94, ISSN 0392-0437
  • Chambers, David, The Imperial Age of Venice 1380-1580, 1970, London, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0155408917
  • Hartt, Frederick, History of Italian Renaissance Art, (2nd edn.), 1987, Thames & Hudson (US Harry N Abrams), ISBN 0500235104
  • Hope, Charles, The Ceiling Paintings in the Libreria Marciana in Nuovi Studi su Paolo Veronese, 1990, Venezia, Arsenale Editrice, ISBN 8877430567
  • Howard, Deborah, The Architectural History of Venice, 1980, London, B. T. Batsford, ISBN 9780300090291
  • Howard, Deborah, Jacopo Sansovino: architecture and patronage in Renaissance Venice, 1975, New Haven, Yale University Press, ISBN 9780300018912
  • Humfrey, Peter, Painting in Renaissance Venice, 1995, New Haven, Yale University Press, pp. 188–198, ISBN 0300067151
  • Ivanoff, Nicola, La libreria marciana: Arte e iconologia, «Saggi e Memorie di storia dell'arte», 6, 1967, Firenze, Olschki, pp. 33–78
  • Labowsky, Lotte, Bessarion's Library and the Biblioteca Marciana, Six Early Inventories, 1979, Rome, Storia e Letteratura, ISBN 9788884985699
  • Lotz, Wolfgang, The Roman Legacy in Sansovino's Venetian Buildings, «Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians», Vol. 22, No. 1, Mar, 1963, Oakland (CA), University of California Press, pp. 3–12, ISSN 0037-9808
  • Morresi, Manuela, Jacopo Sansovino, 2000, Milano, Electa, ISBN 8843575716
  • Paolucci, Antonio, La sala della libreria e il ciclo pittorico in Da Tiziano a El Greco. Per la storia del Manierismo a Venezia 1540-1590, 1981, Milano, Electa
  • Pittoni, Laura, La libreria di san Marco, 1903, Pistoia, Giuseppe Flori
  • Raines, Dorit, Book Museum or Scholarly Library? The ‘Libreria di San Marco’ in a Republican Context, «Ateneo veneto», vol. 197, 3 ser, 9/II, pp. 31–50 (ISSN 0004-6558)
  • Rapp, Claudia, Bessarion of Nicaea in The Classical Tradition, ed. Anthony Grafton, Glenn W. Most, and Salvatore Settis, 2010, Cambridge (MA), The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN 0674072278
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  • Sansovino, Francesco, Venetia città nobilissima et singolare descritta in 14 libri, 1581, Venetia, Iacomo Sansovino
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