Biblioteca Marciana

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.[28]

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.[29] Subsequently, on 6 March 1537, it was decided that the area of the building facing the palace was to be destined for the offices of the procurators and for the library.[30] 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.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33]

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.[34] 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.[34] 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.[35]

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.[34] But on 18 December 1545, the heavy masonry vault collapsed.[36] 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,[37] 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, the procurators increased funding by borrowing from trust funds, recovering unpaid rents, selling unprofitable holdings, and drawing upon the interest income from government bonds.[38] Work proceeded rapidly thereafter. The Cavaletto was relocated in 1550.[39] 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.[40] The commemorative plaque in the adjacent vestibule, corresponding to the next three bays, bears the date of the Venetian year 1133 (i.e. 1554),[41] an indication that the end of construction was already considered imminent. By then, fourteen bays had been constructed.[42] However, owing to difficulties in finding a suitable alternative location, only in 1556 was the last of the hostelries, the Lion, relocated, allowing the building to reach the sixteenth bay in correspondence to the lateral entry of the mint.[38] Beyond stood the central meat market. This was a significant source of rental income for the procurators, and construction was halted. The work on the interior decorations nevertheless continued until about 1560.[43] Although it was decided five years later to relocate the meat market and continue the building,[44] no further action was taken, and in 1570 Sansovino died.

In 1582, following the demolition of the meat market (1581), Vincenzo Scamozzi was selected to oversee the construction of the final five bays, continuing Sansovino's design.[45] 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 of twenty-one bays. Scamozzi's negative comment on the junction of the library with the mint[46] 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.[47]

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.[48] 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.[49]

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.[50] 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.[51] Later popularized by the architect Andrea Palladio, the element is customarily known as the Palladian window.[52] 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[53] 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.[54] 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.[55] 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.[53]

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.[56] 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.[57] 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.[58] 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.[59]

Detail of the façade, ground floor

Sansovino's celebrated solution to the corner pier.

The ground floor is modelled on the Theater of Marcellus and the Colosseum in Rome.[60] It consists in a succession 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).[61] 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".[62]

According to the architect's son, Francesco, Sansovino's solution to the difficulty in applying strict Vitruvian principles to the corner of a Doric frieze was much discussed and admired. 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 ideas, none of which satisfied the Vitruvian dictum. 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.[63] Sansovino further sensationalized the design by challenging the leading architects in Italy to resolve the vexing problem and then triumphantly revealing his own solution.[64]

Girolamo Campagna (attributed), statue of Apollo (Orpheus?)

Rather than a two-dimensional wall, the façade is conceived as an assemblage of three-dimensional structural elements: piers, arcades, columns, and entablatures that are layered atop one another to create a sense of depth.[65] The resulting effect of plastic richness is increased by the extensive surface carvings. These are the work of Sansovino's collaborators, including Danese Cattaneo, Pietro da Salò, Bartolomeo Ammannati, and Alessandro Vittoria.[66] 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, mostly 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.[67] 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,[68] 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.[69] 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.[70]

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.[71] 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.[72]

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.[73]

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) and Achille Bocchi’s Symbolicarum quaestionum de universo genere (1555); Francesco Marcolini’s divination game Le ingeniose sorti (1540); as well as Vincenzo Cartari’s mythographic manual for painters Imagini colla sposizione degli dei degli antichi (1556).[74] The "Mantegna Tarocchi" were used as iconographic sources for the depictions of the liberal arts and the muses in the staircase.[75]

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,[76] 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.[77] 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.[78] 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.[79]

Staircase with the Dome of Poetics and the second flight (stuccoes by Alessandro Vittoria)

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).[80] 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).[81]

Titian, "Wisdom" (c. 1560).

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.[82] The vestibule also briefly (1560–1561) hosted the meetings of the Accademia veneziana before its failure for bankruptcy.[83] 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.[84]

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.[85] 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

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.[86] 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.[87] Of the "philosophers", only Diogenes by Tintoretto has been credibly identified.[88]

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.[89]

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.[90]

For the single roundels, various and conflicting titles have been proposed over time.[91] 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.[92]

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 description 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) The Soul before 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.[93]

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.[107] Elevated to the cardinalate in 1440, 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.[108]

As commendatory abbot of the monastery of Santa Croce di Fonte Avellana (1456–1472), Bessarion was able to remove codices for copying from its important library.

In his Roman residence, Palazzo Colonna, Bessarion established a scriptorium where hired copyists duplicated the manuscripts that could not be found for purchase.

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.[109] A similar scriptorium existed in his Roman residence, Palazzo Colonna near Santi Apostoli, 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 from 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.[110] Copyists were also hired and coordinated through the bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci.

"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 book trader 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.[111]

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 residence in Bologna (1450–1455) 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. Other Latin codices were purchased during his legation to Germany (1460–1461), predominately works by Nicholas of Lyra.[112]

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).[113]

The Marciana Library now possesses 548 Greek codices, 337 Latin codices, and 27 incunabula that once belonged to Cardinal Bessarion.[114] 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.[115]

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.[116]
• 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.[117]
• 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.[118]
• 1624 - Giacomo Gallicio: the donation consisted of 21 Greek codices, comprising over 90 works, dealing primarily with exegetics, philology, and philosophy.[118]
• 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.[119]
• 1792 - Tommaso Giuseppe Farsetti: the bequest of the Venetian patrician consisted of 386 Latin and Italian manuscripts and over 1600 printed books, primarily literature.[120]
• 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.[121]
• 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.[122]
• 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.[123]
• 1843 - Girolamo Contarini: the bequest of the Venetian nobleman, consisted of some 4000 printed books and 956 manuscripts, including 170 musical codices.[124]
• 1852 - Giovanni Rossi: the bequest consisted of 470 manuscripts dealing primarily with Venetian history and a collection of Venetian operas.[125]

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.[126] In addition, during the second period of French occupation (1805–1815) when numerous convents and monasteries were suppressed and their libraries dispersed, the Marciana obtained 4.407 volumes including 630 manuscripts.[127] In 1811, the map of Fra Mauro was transferred from the suppressed Camaldolese monastery of San Michele in Isola.

Today, the collection consists in 4,639 manuscripts; 13,117 manuscript volumes; 2,887 incunabula; 24,060 cinquecentine; and 1,000,000 (circa) post-sixteenth-century books.[128] Among the treasures are unique scores of operas by Francesco Cavalli and sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti.