a continuation along the southern side of the square until the 1550s when work was nearing completion on the initial construction stage of the library. At that time, it was suggested that the library be extended to the waterfront and that the entire square be lined with new structures. But no action was taken. Conditions in the buildings on the southern side of the square continued to deteriorate giving rise to concerns for the dignity of the procurators, and on 10 December 1580, the Senate determined that the time had come to demolish the buildings, citing once again their age and the unsightly appearance. Three designs were submitted for the building that was to house the new apartments of the procurators, and on 5 April 1582, the design of Vincenzo Scamozzi was accepted. Construction On 15 January 1581, the procurators decided that the new building would be constructed not on the exact site of the hospice and existing apartments but further back, in line with the library. This would make the bell tower a freestanding structure. It would also transform Saint Mark's Square into a trapezoid, giving greater visual importance to the Church of Saint Mark located on the eastern side. Presumably, this had been Sansovino's intention when in 1537 he began the construction of the library further away from the bell tower. The decision to replace the dilapidated structures with a new building for the procurators was in fact the culmination of the renovatio urbis, the vast architectural programme begun under Doge Andrea Gritti to reaffirm Venice's international prestige after the earlier defeat at Agnadello during the War of Cambrai and the subsequent Peace of Bologna which sanctioned Habsburg hegemony on the Italian Peninsula at the end of the War of the League of Cognac. The programme, which included the mint (begun 1536), the library (begun 1537), and the loggia of the bell tower (begun 1538), called for the radical transformation of Saint Mark's Square from an antiquated medieval town centre with food vendors, money changers, and even latrines into a classical forum. The intent was to evoke the memory of the ancient Roman Republic and, in the aftermath of the Sack of Rome in 1527, to present Venice as Rome's true successor. The building programme was strongly advocated by the , the wealthy and influential families within the aristocracy who maintained close ties with the papal court and