Building Renaissance Venice: Patrons, Architects, and Builders

256 pages. This book brings to life the story of the construction of some of the most ou tstanding early Renaissance buildings in Venice. Through a series of individual case studies, Richard J. Goy explores how and why great buildings came to be bui lt. He addresses the practical issues of constructing such buildings as the Torr e dell?Orologio in Piazza San Marco, the Arsenale Gate, and the churches of Sa nta Maria della Carita and San Zaccaria, focusing particular attention on the pr ocess of patronage.The book is the first to trace the complete process of cr eating important buildings, from the earliest conception in the minds of the pat ronsthe Venetian state or other institutional patronsthrough the choice of a rchitect, the employment of craftsmen, and the selection of materials. In an int eresting analysis of the participants? roles, Goy highlights the emerging impo rtance of the superintending master, the protomaestro.