Procuratie Vecchie, Venice, Piazza San Marco

Architect: David Chipperfield
Text: György Szegő
Photos: Hanna Szegő, Alessandra Chemollo

Piazza San Marco is one of the most recognisable squares in the world and an extraordinary and explicit demonstration of ordered public space. The Procuratie Vecchie was developed along the entire north side of the square in the first half of the sixteenth century under the renovatio urbis programme of Doge Andrea Gritti. The architects Mauro Codussi, Bartolomeo Bon and Jacopo Sansovino all worked on the project, establishing the classically inspired new architectural language adopted by the subsequent developments on the south and west sides of the square. After much remodeling, the interiors of the Procuratie Vecchie could now be remodeled in a worthy way, according to David Chipperfield’s concept.