Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana

This place is gorgeous! Its definitely a good place to site see and take pictures! If you have to go here everyday, it does get old. For just a visit, definitely have to check it out at least once.

For all the three museums Museo correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Bibliotec Nazionale Marciana its one entry pass/ticket. These are not three separate buildings once you enter one of them you will see all three in one shot. Nice to visit its exactly opposite to Basillica on the other side of St marks square. Not very much mandatory to visit if you have less time. I suggest any one visiting venice to buy museum pass at train station itself. Museum pass include Doge's palace entry and if if you visit around 3 to 4 museums with this pass along with Doge's palace then its worth and you have your money.

We were kinda rudely told that the library is only for students because of covid. I understand that but there is no info about it outside on the building or on the website or anywhere else. Disappointed

When we visited in August 2021, only one room housing an art exhibition could be accessed. We asked a number of times but it was unclear why the main section of the library was closed (or how long for). We were very disappointed to miss the library, as the photos look beautiful.

Impressive paintings on the walls

maricana libraray at the san marco square is a must see place . this is a public library which is one of the oldest library contaning many old classical manuscripts .

Beautiful setting. Good service, food quite expensive but that’s to be expected. Live music very good and adds to the atmosphere. Worth a treat.

It is a great pleasure to stand on the Piazzetta and observe this beautiful building, the Biblioteca Marciana. Its history and significance is extremely interesting, and its interior is breathtaking. The interior is beautifully decorated, and richly decorated with frescoes and paintings by artists like Tintoretto and Domenico Molin, its ceiling, featuring Titian’s allegorical painting, Sapienza, is widely considered the room’s most important decorative element. National Library of St. Mark is a library and Renaissance building, one of the oldest public libraries in the country and one of the largest collections of classical texts in the world. The library was named after St. Mark, patron saint of Venice. The Marciana Library stands as a symbol of the city’s wealth and its long tradition of civic investment in intellectual and artistic pursuits. The building’s construction began in 1537 and was completed over the next 50 years. The library, designed by Jacopo Sansovino, he is completed 16 of the façade’s 21 arcaded bays before his death in 1570. Eighteen years later, Vincenzo Scamozzi finished the structure according to Sansovino’s plans. Books for the library began to be collected even before the building was built. The nucleus of the collection was a donation of valuable Byzantine and Renaissance Serenissimi manuscripts collected by the scientist, patron and collector, Cardinal Bessarion, who donated his collection on May 31, 1468. It contained about 750 codices in Latin and Greek, with 250 manuscripts and some printed books (incunabula), it was the first public library open to scholars and students in Venice. The holdings of the Marciana Library were significantly enriched in the 18th century when collections were collected in several monasteries, such as Sts. Giovanni e Paolo from Venice and St. Giovanni di Verdara of Padua, handed over to Marciana for further safekeeping. With the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, the Marciana holdings were enriched by the entry of a large number of manuscripts and books from religious institutions (churches and monasteries) that had been banned and disbanded during Napoleon's rule. In 1811, the library was moved to the more spacious premises of the Doge's Palace. In 1904, the collection was moved to the building of Sansovinova Zecca, a mint (built in 1537-1547). The library has since returned to its original space, but has also expanded to parts of the neighboring Procuratie Nuova. Today, Marciana has about a million printed books, and about 13,000 manuscripts, 2,883 incunabula, and 24,055 works printed between 1500 and 1600.