Vincenzo Scamozzi, statuario della Repubblica (1591-1593)

In 1587 the Patriarch of Aquileia, Giovanni Grimani, donated to the Republic of Venice his exceptional collection of ancient works of art on condition that the antiques would be exhibited to the public. In 1590 a hall was chosen for a permanent exhibition on the piano nobile of the Marciana Library and Scamozzi began preparing the “illumination” of the museum, positioning the pieces of sculpture and artefacts in an effective manner and providing for their conservation. It is worth remembering that in his treaties Scamozzi does in fact make a clear distinction between what he defines as “spaces which contain” (which, in this case, would apply to exhibition space) and “contained objects” (which, again, in the case of the museum would apply to the works of art themselves.) The Public Statuary of the Serenissima was the first public museum of classical artefact ever created in Europe.