OPAC Polo VEA

The OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) of the Venice library network (Polo VEA), is the union catalogue of the libraries in the Venice area. It enables users to search the holdings of the 38 participating libraries, including the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. For the Marciana, the catalogue includes:

• Early and modern printed books
• Printed cartographic materials
• Graphic materials (prints, postcards, photographs)
• Periodicals
• Multimedia materials
• Musical manuscripts

Other manuscripts held by the Library are not included in the Polo VEA OPAC. For these materials, please consult the specific catalogues listed in the relevant sections of this website.

The catalogue was launched in 1990 and is continuously updated with new acquisitions and earlier materials recovered through retrospective cataloguing projects.

In accordance with the organisational model of the National Library Service (SBN), the same bibliographic records are also accessible through the SBN OPAC (the union catalogue of the libraries of the National Library Service).

Digitised historical catalogues

For manuscript materials, reproductions of historical catalogues may be consulted in the Historical Cataloguessection of the Italian Digital Library, curated by the Central Institute for the Union Catalogue of Italian Libraries and Bibliographic Information (ICCU).

This resource provides access to the original Marciana catalogues in digital format.

The following are included:

• The Marciana manuscript catalogues of the Zanetti Ancient Collection, including Greek, Latin, Italian, and French manuscripts;
• The manuscript inventories of the Appendix, relating to Greek, Latin, and Italian manuscripts.

The wider collection comprises volume and card catalogues from 39 Italian libraries, with approximately 6.85 million digitised images. These include alphabetical, systematic, topographical, and specialised catalogues (e.g. manuscripts, graphic materials, music).

The earliest catalogues date back to the eighteenth century. In some cases, manuscript catalogues continued to be used into the nineteenth century, particularly where they were updated over time.

At a minimum, the main headings (author, title and subject) are indexed; in many cases the first heading on each page of the bound catalogues is also indexed. For card catalogues, either free-text searching or sequential browsing is available.

Nuova Biblioteca Manoscritta (NBM)

Some manuscripts are catalogued in the Nuova Biblioteca Manoscritta (NBM), the online catalogue of manuscripts held in libraries throughout the Veneto Region.

This catalogue provides detailed descriptions of individual codices.

Manus Online (MOL)

The Marciana manuscripts are also progressively described in Manus Online (MOL)), the national catalogue of manuscripts held in Italian libraries, promoted by the ICCU.

The catalogue enables integrated searching of manuscripts at the national level.

Internet culturale

Internet Culturale is the portal of the Italian Ministry of Culture that brings together and provides online access to the digital collections of Italian libraries. It offers bibliographic descriptions and digital reproductions of manuscripts, early printed books, music, cartographic materials, and other documentary materials.

Through the Internet Culturale portal, users can access the digital collections of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, which include:

• Manuscripts: bibliographic descriptions of the Marciana codices, with digital access to many items that have already been digitised.
• Musical manuscripts: a substantial collection of compositions by Galuppi, Perez, Hasse, Marcello, Scarlatti, and others, digitised and available online.
• Cartographic and graphic materials: over 27,000 items, including maps, plans, views, drawings, portraits, shipbuilding drawings, scientific illustrations, and materials relating to customs and traditions. Among the most significant works Fra Mauro’s Globe and Ptolemy’s Geographia.
• Other digital collections: vernacular incunabula, rare works relating to Venetian culture, periodicals, selected early editions, and Italian autograph manuscripts.