Marco Barbo e la fabbrica di Palazzo Venezia

The building traditionally known as Palazzo Venezia is a paradigmatic example of mid-fifteenth-century palace architecture in Rome. Left uncompleted, and substantially renovated in the twentieth century, this monumental residence remains fundamentally tied to the intentions of Paul II (b. 1417 d. 1464–1471), the pontiff under whom it was begun, despite the fact that much of the actual construction occurred only after his death on the initiative of the new patron, Cardinal Marco Barbo (1420–1491). The author’s primary intention is to delineate the cultural profile and personality of the cardinal with the help of contemporary documentary and literary sources and chronicles. An educated patron and competent administrator, Barbo has up to now remained in the shadow of the Venetian pope. Subsequently, the study works to clarify his role in the decisions taken with regard to the architectural configuration of the imposing residence in the earliest phase of the pontifical construction. The analysis of the building process continues by taking into account the construction effected during the period between 1471 and 1491, distinguishing between what was done according to Paul II’s intentions, and what was instead independently established by Marco Barbo. Through the study of unpublished notarial documents and the observation of the tangible signs of the intervention of the two patrons, namely the coats of arms and the dedicatory inscriptions, it has been possible to clarify our understanding of the merely apparent continuity between the two significant construction periods. It turns out, in fact, that the cardinal’s modifications to the papal project were in all probability numerous and significant. This interpretation differs substantially from that tacitly accepted, or explicitly affirmed in the scholarly literature on the subject, according to which Barbo limited himself to implementing the decisions taken by his predecessor, making meagre and only negligible changes to the design. Instead, the new data that has emerged leads to the conclusion that some of the most distinctive features of the architectural complex of San Marco, including the presence of an open gallery courtyard and the very extension of the building’s perimeter itself, are referable not only at the material, but also at the conceptual level, to the years in which Marco Barbo was the building’s patron.