Venice in the Details - Biblioteca Marciana

In 1468, Cardinal Bessarion (a great Humanist scholar) donated his large collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts to the city of Venice. The Classical texts and studies were very important during the Renaissance, so Cardinal Bessarion’s donation was a great honor for the city. One stipulation of the donation was that the collection be housed properly; however, Venice did not get around to creating a proper home for the volumes until 1537. This building, the Biblioteca Marciana, was the first public library available for scholarly use in Venice.

The Biblioteca Marciana, or St. Mark’s Library, was designed by Jacobo Sansovino, an Italian architect known for his many works around Piazza San Marco. The library is known as Sansovino’s masterpiece and is his most beloved project among Venetians. It combines the classical Renaissance architectural style with the typical Venetian surface decorations. The library is similar to other Venetian buildings in that it has a large piano nobile (first floor), many arches, and windows. It also adheres to Ionic and Doric orders of Greek classical architecture. Many Roman symbols, like obelisks and naturalistic statues, cover the exterior of the building (“The Marciana Library”). 

A combination of styles: typical Venetian decorations with Roman Naturalistic statues and Greek architectural details

The combination of all of these architectural details highlights Renaissance Venice’s focus on Greek and Roman culture and architecture, which would later be studied by various scholars inside the library.

The interior of the library is decorated with many different works in many styles from Renaissance artists. The vestibule contains a collection of Greek and Roman sculptures donated by Cardinal Grimani in 1596. The vestibule’s ceiling portrays Wisdom, a late work by Titian. The main room of the Biblioteca Marciana has a large ceiling with seven rows of allegorical medallion paintings from Venetian Mannerist artists. The library also contains Fra Mauro (a Venetian monk)’s map of the world from 1459, which shows the great extent of Venice’s geographical knowledge at the time (Time Out Venice).

The main room of the Biblioteca Marciana

After construction was completed, the Marciana collection was moved to its new home. The collection grew steadily by personal donations and acquisitions of monastery libraries. After the fall of the Venetian Republic, the Library obtained portions of the collections from religious institutions. In 1603, a law was introduced to require all Italian printers to donate one copy of every published book to the library; this also helped the collection to expand.

The Biblioteca Marciana currently houses about a million volumes and 13,500 manuscripts. It contains 2883 incunabula (booklets printed before 1501) and 24,000 other works printed between 1500 and 1600. The Marciana collection also has many illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The library plays an important role in Venetian culture and studies, conserving Greek culture, Venetian history, and Venetian publishing (Arounder). It stands as a symbol of Venice’s dedication to intellectual and artistic pursuits, especially those in classical Greek and Roman styles.

Me, presenting in front of the Biblioteca Marciana earlier today

Originally, I chose to study the Biblioteca Marciana because I like libraries. I figured that a Venetian library would be interesting, if only because it is a library in another country! I started doing research on the Biblioteca Marciana last week; most of my research involved taking information from the Internet and putting it into my own words. I saw a few pictures, but I was not fully able to understand what I was writing about because of the inherent disconnect between words on the Internet and real life. I knew a lot about the library, but I didn’t really get much out of this information until I saw the building in person. Seeing the Biblioteca Marciana, and actually standing in front of it while I gave a presentation, changed everything! I feel much more attached to the library now – it feels like it really is my own little piece of Venice. I was finally able to understand that the library’s architecture tells the story of what information it holds inside. I really enjoyed presenting the Biblioteca to my classmates. Since we were not able to see the inside today (it was a Sunday), I am excited to go back and see the main room and the vestibule. I got much more out of this assignment than I was expecting; I feel much more knowledgeable about both the library and Venetian culture in general. Not only that, but I also learned a lot from my classmates’ presentations on other parts of Piazza San Marco. This square is a tourist hotspot, but these tourists generally do not know anything about the sights they see and the scenes they take pictures of. After today’s activity, I definitely do not feel like these tourists; I feel well-informed. I believe I can enjoy Piazza San Marco more than the average tourist, simply because I have this knowledge!

Resources:

"History of the Library." Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. Ministero dei beni e delle attivata culturali e del turismo, 3 Sept 2012. Web. 11 Mar 2014. <http://marciana.venezia.sbn.it/storia>.

"Museo Correr, Biblioteca Marciana & Museo Archeologico." Time Out Venice. Time Out Group Ltd, 23 Oct 2013. Web. 11 Mar 2014. <http://www.timeout.com/venice/museums/venue/1:22473/museo-correr-biblioteca-marciana-museo-archeologico>.

"The Marciana Library." Venice. ARTH 470z Class at the University of Mary Washington, 11 Dec 2008. Web. 11 Mar 2014. <http://venice.umwblogs.org/exhibit/the-myth-of-venice-in-the-architecture-of-jacopo-sansovino/libreria-di-san-marco/>.

"The Marciana Library - Historic building - Venice." Arounder. VRWAY Communication, 2014. Web. 11 Mar 2014. <http://venice.arounder.com/en/historic-building/the-marciana-library>.

Biblioteca interior image source: http://www.elfikurten.com.br/2012/07/bibliotecas-tesouros-da-humanidade.html