The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositories for manuscripts in Italy and holds one the world's most significant collections of classical texts. It is named after St. Mark, the patron saint of the city.
The library was founded in 1468 when the humanist scholar Cardinal Bessarion, bishop of Tusculum and titular Latin patriarch of Constantinople, donated his collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts to the Republic of Venice, with the stipulation that a library of public utility be established. The collection was the result of Bessarion's concerted effort to locate rare manuscripts throughout Greece and Italy and then acquire or copy them as a means of preserving the writings of the classical Greek authors and the literature of Byzantium after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. His choice of Venice was primarily due to the city's large community of Greek refugees and its historical ties to the Byzantine Empire. The Venetian government was slow, however, to honour its commitment to suitably house the manuscripts with decades of discussion and indecision, owing to a series of military conflicts in the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries and the resulting climate of political uncertainty. The library was ultimately built during the period of recovery as part of a vast programme of urban renewal aimed at glorifying the republic through architecture and affirming its international prestige as a centre of wisdom and learning.
The original library building is located in Saint Mark's Square, Venice's former governmental centre, with its long façade facing the Doge's Palace. Constructed between 1537 and 1588, it is considered the masterpiece of the architect Jacopo Sansovino and a key work in Venetian Renaissance architecture. The Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio described it as "perhaps the richest and most ornate building that there has been since ancient times up until now" . The art historian Jacob Burckhardt regarded it as "the most magnificent secular Italian building" , and Frederick Hartt called it "one of the most satisfying structures in Italian architectural history". Also significant for its art, the library holds many works by the great painters of sixteenth-century Venice, making it a comprehensive monument to Venetian Mannerism.Today, the historical building is customarily referred to as the 'Libreria sansoviniana' and is largely a museum. Since 1904, the library offices, the reading rooms, and most of the collection have been housed in the adjoining Zecca, the former mint of the Republic of Venice. The library is now officially known as the Biblioteca nazionale Marciana. It is the only official institution established by the Venetian government that survives and continues to function.
Orvieto Cathedral is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 1986, the cathedral in Orvieto has been the episcopal seat of the former Diocese of Todi as well.
The building was constructed under the orders of Pope Urban IV to commemorate and provide a suitable home for the Corporal of Bolsena, the relic of miracle which is said to have occurred in 1263 in the nearby town of Bolsena, when a traveling priest who had doubts about the truth of transubstantiation found that his Host was bleeding so much that it stained the altar cloth. The cloth is now stored in the Chapel of the Corporal inside the cathedral.
Situated in a position dominating the town of Orvieto which sits perched on a volcanic plug, the cathedral's façade is a classic piece of religious construction, containing elements of design from the 14th to the 20th century, with a large rose window, golden mosaics and three huge bronze doors, while inside resides two frescoed chapels decorated by some of the best Italian painters of the period with images of Judgment Day. The cathedral has five bells, dating back to Renaissance, tuned in E flat.
Castelvecchio Museum is a museum in Verona, northern Italy, located in the eponymous medieval castle. Restoration by the architect Carlo Scarpa between 1959 and 1973 has enhanced the appearance of the building and exhibits. Scarpa's architectural style is visible in the details for doorways, staircases, furnishings, and even fixtures designed to hold a specific piece of artwork. The renovation carefully balanced new and old, revealing the history of the original building where appropriate. Unusual at the time, this approach has now become a common approach to renovation.
The Suardi Chapel is an oratory or private chapel inside the villa in Trescore Balneario, Province of Bergamo owned by the Suardi counts. It is dedicated to Saint Barbara and Saint Brigid and was completely rebuilt by the cousins Giovan Battista and Maffeo Suardi. It is fully covered in 1524 frescoes commissioned by them from by Lorenzo Lotto of Christ the Vine and Lives of the Saints. In the 19th century count Gianforte Suardi built a corridor connecting the chapel to the villa and modified the chapel entrance - those entering had previously immediately found themselves in front of the north wall with its depiction of Christ the Vine.
Located on the road across the Val Cavallina which links Bergamo to Lago d'Iseo, the chapel had existed since the 15th century. Around 1523 count Giovan Battista Suardi commissioned Lotto to decorate the oratory and so the artist immediately moved to the area. By this show of piety the count hoped to avert a flood and to counter the seeds of Lutheranism brought to northern Italy by the Landsknechts. The frescoes were complete by summer 1524. The artist and commissioners were friends, as shown by their correspondence discussing the cartoons for the intarsi in the choir of Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo. Lotto was assisted by Francesco Bonetti, documented as his pupil from 1517 to 1550.
The Palazzo D'Arco is a Neoclassical-style palace located on Piazza Carlo D'Arco #4 in Mantua, region of Lombardy, Italy. The palace houses the Museo di Palazzo d'Arco, which displays the furnishings and artwork collected by the Duke D'Arco.
The Villa Valmarana is a Renaissance villa situated in Lisiera, a locality of Bolzano Vicentino, province of Vicenza, northern Italy. Designed by Andrea Palladio, it was originally built in the 1560s for the Valmarana family.The villa was nearly totally destroyed during World War II, but has been rebuilt. Even before the war damage, the building did not closely resemble the plan which Palladio published in his I quattro libri dell'architettura of 1570, possibly because Gianfrancesco Valmarana, the architect's client, died while his house was being built.
The Laurentian Library is a historic library in Florence, Italy, containing more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books. Built in a cloister of the Medicean Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze under the patronage of the Medici pope Clement VII, the library was built to emphasize that the Medici were no longer merchants but members of intelligent and ecclesiastical society. It contains the manuscripts and books belonging to the private library of the Medici family. The library is renowned for its architecture, designed by Michelangelo, and is an example of Mannerism.A Codex Laurentianus identifies any of the book-bound manuscripts in the library. The library conserves the Nahuatl Florentine Codex, the Rabula Gospels, the Codex Amiatinus, the Squarcialupi Codex, and the fragmentary Erinna papyrus containing poems of the friend of Sappho.
The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta, San Gimignano is a Roman Catholic collegiate church and minor basilica located in San Gimignano, Tuscany, central Italy, situated in the Piazza del Duomo at the town's heart. The church is famous for its fresco cycles which include works by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Taddeo di Bartolo, Lippo Memmi and Bartolo di Fredi. The basilica is located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the "Historic Centre of San Gimignano", with its frescos being described by UNESCO as "works of outstanding beauty".
