La Libreria V. (The Library, Venice)

The sumptuous library was the masterpiece of architect Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), but Canaletto makes the people of Venice seem far more interested in the puppet show taking place near the column of St. Theodore at the far left. Theodore was the patron saint if Venice until—according to tradition—the relics of St. Mark were brought to the city in 828 AD. The massive building partly seen at right is the campanile—the bell tower—of the Basilica of San Marco.