Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Beth on La Biblioteca Marciana





Biblioteca Marciana- architect Jacopo Sansovino (Beth Olry)


Venice
(1537-1553)

The Biblioteca Marciana was named after the patron saint of Venice, Saint Mark, and is a library that was built during the renaissance. The architect, Jacopo Sansovino, was originally named Jacopo Tatti. He was an Italian sculptor and architect that introduced the style of the High Renaissance into Venice, where he died in 1570. He was born and baptized in Florence in 1486 and, some considered, predestined for Venetian architecture.
Sansovino was trained in Florence and remained active in Rome. He trained so many sculptors that it was nearly considered a school of its own. Much of the extent of the effect of Venice architecture can be attributed to his exceptional skills.
The Biblioteca Marciana is still one of the oldest surviving public document depositories in Italy.  Its importance to the Renaissance is that it was essential to housing the limited supply of texts that contributed to the reemergence of Classical philosophy and literature. The ancient texts were primarily in Latin and Greek.
Cardinal Basilios Bessarion bequeathed a significant collection to the Biblioteca Marciana in 1468. This alone was quite fortunate for Venice and a mark of distinction. Venice portrayed itself as the center of learning and Classical knowledge by building the ornate library, playing a role as the leading center of Greek studies.
Regarding structure, there is complete and correct use of the Doric and Ionic orders that pleased educated Venetians. The Vitruvian components exemplify Roman iconography. Large Obelisks and naturalistic statues are reminiscent of antiquity. Other notable symbols on the façade are keystone heads, and the joining of engaged columns. This is demonstrative of the similarities between other Roman structures, such as the Colosseum.
Palladio describes it as the “richest and most ornate [building] since Antiquity, which made Venice an extension of Rome.

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