Nel 1362 he decided to donate his books to the Republic to form the first nucleus of a larger collection open to scholars and lovers of culture.
In the resolution accepting the poet’s proposal, the Major Council outlined the expenses needed to designate a suitable place for the preservation of books. However, Francesco Petrarca’s design was not followed.
In the following century, the 1468 donation of the imposing and precious book collection of the Greek cardinal Bessarione, which arrived in Venice starting from 1469 and was housed in the Doge’s Palace, governed by the Senate and placed under the care of the Procurators of San Marco, gave a real impetus to the idea of constructing the State library.
However, it took concrete form only under Doge Andrea Gritti and his project to relaunch the city. The construction of the Public Library building, housing Bessarione’s collection with future acquisitions and the offices (or chambers) of the Procurators of S. Marco, was entrusted to Jacopo Sansovino who began work in 1537.
The completion of the work, after his death in 1570, was the work of Vincenzo Scamozzi.
In 1560, the Library of S. Marco, under the magistracy of the Reformers of the University of Padua, was operational: the large hall was furnished with walnut wood desks for reading to which the codices were chained and some cabinets for storing books, and embellished with a rich decorative apparatus.
The Vestibule was designated as the seat of the School of S. Marco and for academic meetings. In 1596, the Public Statue Gallery of the Republic was inaugurated in the repurposed Vestibule of the Library, to accommodate the donation of Greek and Roman statues from Cardinal Giovanni Grimani, supplemented by other pieces from Federico Contarini.
The life of the Library and that of the Statue Gallery then remained intertwined until the early twentieth century, when the Archaeological Museum was established.
Information about the Marciana National Library
From Monday to Friday from 8:10 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Saturday 8:10 a.m. / 1:00 p.m.
Free admission.
