The building itself was designed by Jacopo Sansovino and was built in 1537, featuring an appealing mixture of Renaissance and Venetian architectural styles. In the end of the 16th Century, one of the largest and most beautiful halls in the dwelling was turned into Museo Statuario della Repubblica, which still exists today and houses exceptional exhibits, including marble collections of Contarini and Grimani. Nowadays, the library possesses approximately 1 million volumes, more than 13,000 manuscripts and other written and multimedia materials, all which are dedicated predominantly to Greek and Venetian history and culture.