with several antiquated structures. These included the rent-free apartments erected in the thirteenth century for the procurators as well as their ridotti (offices), which were located inside a separate building dating back to the reign of Pietro I Orseolo (976–978). This building, the , had originally been constructed as a hospice to give aid and shelter to the pilgrims arriving in the city to venerate the relics of Saint Mark. Later, it served as an almshouse for indigent women. Conditions in the outdated and precarious apartments were poor, and expenditures for repairs continued to rise for both the occupants and the government. Some procurators, despite the obligation imposed by the Great Council and the Council of Forty, refused to take up residence in the square. Citing the dark and damp conditions and, in some instances, the lack of a view, they preferred to live in their palatial homes elsewhere in the city. Other procurators sublet their official apartments as a source of personal revenue. In addition, there were only six official apartments, two for each of the procuracies (de supra, de citra, and de ultra) which were assigned to the next senior procurator upon vacancy. This number of apartments was insufficient, and the government incurred the additional expense of a rent allowance to enable the remaining procurators to secure living space near the square. On 14 July 1536, the procurators de supra consequently commissioned Jacopo Sansovino, their proto (consultant architect and buildings manager), to present a model for a three-storey building that was to substitute the hospice and apartments along the entire southern side of the square and continue in front of the Doge's Palace where it was to replace the five hostelries for foreign merchants, the lean-to bread shops, and the meat market. No records survive regarding the ensuing internal discussions, but the project was radically transformed. On 6 March 1537, it was decided that the construction of the new building, now with only two floors, should begin with the section directly in front of the palace and that the space should be destined for the ridotti of the procurators as well as the library, consisting in the precious collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts, entrusted to the care of the procurators, that Cardinal Bessarion had donated to the Republic in 1468 with the request that a library of public utility be founded. There was no further reference to