before. venice. in the fifteenth century the city was at the center of the renaissance here with great enthusiasm the middle ages were left behind and antiquity with its philosophy its knowledge and its culture was rediscovered. the zeal of book hunters helped to fire the renaissance. their impassioned search for classical manuscripts took humanists to the most remote and asked libraries in europe. one of the most important book counters was a greek cardinal by the name of. his books form the basis of one of the most beautiful libraries in the world the marciano located on the lagoon south of st mark's square in the heart of venice.