Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Renaissance library at St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy
The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana features two floors with grand halls containing antique manuscripts, rare books, maps, and classical documents from various periods.
Cardinal Bessarion established the library in 1468 by donating 750 codes and manuscripts, leading to the construction of a dedicated building designed by Jacopo Sansovino in 1537.
The library contains one million volumes, including 13,000 manuscripts and 2,800 incunables, representing a primary source for research on Venetian and Greek cultural heritage.
Visitors can access the library through a combined ticket with the Doge's Palace, operating Monday through Thursday from 8:20 AM to 7:00 PM, and Friday to Saturday until 1:30 PM.
Since 1603, Venetian law has required publishers to donate one copy of each published book to the library, contributing to its extensive collection growth.
Location: Venice
Inception: May 31, 1468
Architects: Jacopo Sansovino
Creator: Giuseppe Porta
Architectural style: Renaissance architecture
Phone: +390412407211
Email: biblioteca@marciana.venezia.sbn.it
Website: https://marciana.venezia.sbn.it
GPS coordinates: 45.43333,12.33917
Latest update: May 26, 2025 21:49
European historic libraries and bookshops preserve written heritage accumulated over centuries. From Livraria Bertrand in Lisbon, founded in 1732 and still operating at the same location, to the Bodleian Library in Oxford, which has housed over 13 million works since 1602, these sites reflect the evolution and dissemination of books. Livraria Lello in Porto is notable for its curved wooden staircase and neo-Gothic woodwork from 1906, while Dominicanen Bookshop in Maastricht is housed in a converted 13th-century church. These spaces are distinguished by their architecture, from baroque to neo-Gothic, and by their function preserved across centuries. The Celsus Library in Izmir, built in 135 AD, used double walls to protect its 12,000 parchments from humidity. Hatchards in London has been operating since 1797 over five floors in Piccadilly, whereas Shakespeare and Company in Paris has maintained its English-language tradition since 1951 opposite Notre-Dame. These institutions offer visitors the chance to explore places where the history of the book is engraved in stone and wood.
St Mark's Basilica
131 m
Piazza San Marco
118 m
Bridge of Sighs
155 m
St Mark's Campanile
78 m
Horses of Saint Mark
126 m
Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs
109 m
Doge's Palace
104 m
St Mark's Clocktower
156 m
Museo Correr
170 m
Columns of San Marco and San Teodoro
42 m
St Mark's Clock
62 m
Giardini Reali
107 m
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Venice
108 m
Loggetta
80 m
Treasury of San Marco
131 m
Ponte della Paglia
149 m
Doge's Palace
104 m
Porta della Carta
104 m
Fonteghetto della Farina
164 m
Museo dell'Opera
124 m
Museo Correr Library
157 m
Negozio Olivetti
157 m
National Archeological Museum
96 m
Sala del Maggior Consiglio - Palazzo Ducale
102 m
Column of San Marco
58 m
Ponte dei Dai
168 m
Ponte Compagnia della Vela
30 m
Lion of Venice, Piazzetta San Marco
58 mReviews
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