Library of S. Marco,Venice Italy, 1560

Name: Xiaoyu Zeng

ARCH161 – M21 LEC(2587)

Library of S. Marco, Venice Italy, 1560

Doric order

Architect(s): Jacopo Sansovino, Vincenzo Scamozzi

[Introduction]

St. Mark’s Library is a sixteenth century building that is located in San Marco plaza of Venice. It is a masterpiece of the famous architect sausovino left in Venice, so that the name of library used his name to name it. He chose a narrow area to build it before people started to build it. He also adopted a double-layer structure that was slightly lower height. This long arcade with the classical columns looked concise and distant, and it also became a public area about leisure shade now.

Plan

[Construction]

The whole building is 84meters and it has 21 rooms that were divided into two layers. A layers of elevation are arcade. Stores are behind it. The library is on the second floor and people can reach from the central bay by stairs. The façade of column wall is circular wall, especially the column in second floor is Rome ionic type. A wall is close to the 1/2 width of wall column height and it also decorated with reliefs and vent. Arcade shoulder is decorated with embossed characters. The railing of stone on the roof top figure statue and the four corners become the obelisk. This library is thought to be the most magnificent project during the period of Renaissance architecture. Also, Plazza San Marco is known as the “heart of Venice”.