In 1362, he decided to donate his books to the Republic so they could become the foundation of a larger collection open to scholars and culture enthusiasts.
When the Major Council accepted the poet’s proposal, it estimated the costs needed to prepare a suitable place for preserving the books. However, Francesco Petrarca’s plan was not carried out at that time.
A century later, the significant and valuable donation made in 1468 by the Greek Cardinal Bessarion—whose collection arrived in Venice from 1469 onwards and was housed in the Doge’s Palace, managed by the Senate and overseen by the Procurators of Saint Mark—gave real momentum to the idea of building a state library.
The project took concrete shape only later, under Doge Andrea Gritti, as part of his efforts to revive the city. The construction of the Public Library building, intended to house Bessarion’s collection along with future acquisitions and the offices (or meeting rooms) of the Procurators of Saint Mark, was entrusted to Jacopo Sansovino, who began work in 1537.
After Sansovino’s death in 1570, the work was completed by Vincenzo Scamozzi. By 1560, the Library of Saint Mark, placed under the magistracy of the Reformers of the University of Padua, was operating: the large hall was equipped with walnut wood benches for reading, to which the manuscripts were chained, and with cabinets for storing the books, and was decorated with an elaborate artistic scheme.
The Vestibule served as the meeting place for the Scuola di San Marco and for academic gatherings. In 1596, the Public Statuario of the Republic was inaugurated in the renovated Vestibule of the Library to display Cardinal Giovanni Grimani’s collection of Greek and Roman statues, later expanded with pieces from Federico Contarini.
The history of the Library and the Statuario remained intertwined until the early twentieth century, when the Archaeological Museum was established.
Visiting Marciana National Library
Monday to Friday: 8:10 AM – 7:00 PM; Saturday: 8:10 AM – 1:00 PM
Free admission.
