Zecca, Venice Italy

                                                           Palazzo della Zecca

Venice, Italy has a long  history of minting that dates back to the Roman times. In the  the 16th century the government had a need for a new mint building and so the Palazzo della Zecca was created becoming the official government mint Located in Venice Italy. It was specifically built to be fire resistant excluding the use of wood. It was a strategically placed facing the Sea, so there was no hazards sparks from molted metal. The facade has a strong feeling of power and strength with the columns that leaves it feeling more like a fortress then a coin mint. 

The designed by Jacopo Sansovino. After he won a 
competition for the commission. There was a need for a new mint after a financial boom in the 1530’s. The building was designed in Rustic Dorick style of Architecture to reclaim the prestige of the Roman legacy. To achieve this the architects intent was to build a building that displayed the fortitude of the economy of Venice. He achieved this by placing heavy lintels and ring half columns around the windows. Originally the building was only going to have two floors but the architect wanted the building to look more formidable from the sea. 

The formidable building withstood the hands of time and produced coins for 330 years. Finally, when Venice became a part of Kingdom of Italy in 1866 the mint closed. The building today holds the "Saint Marks Library" with prestige and fortitude giving a second life to this iconic building.

Sources

htthttp://www.venicethefuture.com/schede/uk/135?aliusid=135p://arth335001.blogspot.com/2010/04/jacopo-sansovino-zecca-mint-venice-1535.html

Zecca : the mint of Venice in the Middle Ages Author: Alan M Stahl

http://jsah.ucpress.edu/content/69/2/19.figuresp-onlyxx   

     

Libreria di San Marco, walled-up window of the Zecca in the southwest corner of the piano nobile (photograph by author)

Jacopo Sansovino and assistants, main doorway, Zecca, 1554––56 (photograph by Ralph Lieberman)

Zecca and Libreria di San Marco, schematic plan as of 1556 (drawing by David Mihm)