The Venetians, somewhat behind the rest of Italy in the development of the fine arts, were at the height of prosperity and wealth during the middle period of the Renaissance; and no city is more rich in monuments of the florid style.

Something of their own delight in sensuous magnificence they communicated even to the foreigners who dwelt among them.

The court of the Ducal Palace, the Scuola di S.Rocco, the Palazzo Corner, and the Palazzo Vendramini-Calergi, illustrate the, strong yet fanciful _bravura_ style that pleased the aristocracy of Venice.

Nowhere else does the architecture of the Middle Ages melt by more imperceptible degrees into that of the Revival, retaining through all changes the impress of a people splendour-loving in the highest sense.

The Library of S.Mark, built by Sansovino in 1536, remains, however, the crowning triumph of Venetian art.