Jacopo Sansovino Architecture and Patronage in Renaissance Venice

On the recommendation of Cardinal Marino Grimani, Sansovino was commissioned in 1527 to restore the great dome of St. Mark’s Basilica, a complex and responsible task that he completed beyond everyone’s expectations. Two years later, he was appointed Protomaestro, or proto, the city’s first master builder. He signed an annual salary of 80 ducats, but this was increased to 180 ducats within a year. That same year, he began redeveloping the central square.

The entrance to the square, the Piazzetta, began to take shape in 1537 with the construction of the Biblioteca Marciana, Sansovino’s masterpiece. Construction ultimately took fifty years and cost 30,000 ducats. With his numerous facade sculptures, Sansovino adapted the formal language of classicism, previously associated with serenity and moderation, to the Venetians, who preferred opulently decorated facades.

Right behind this, he built the new Zecca, the mint that opened in 1545, and at the foot of the Campanile, the sculpted Loggetta del Campanile (1537-1547) as a meeting place for Venetian patricians.

Sansovino also created sculptures for the Basilica of San Marco, built or restored the churches of San Zulian, San Francesco della Vigna, San Martino, San Geminiano (demolished), and Santo Spirito, and many palaces and public buildings such as the Scuola Grande della Misericordia (early plans), Palazzo Dolfin, Palazzo Corner, Palazzo Moro, and the Fabbriche Nuove di Rialto, a business complex in the heart of the city near the Rialto Bridge.