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St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco),Venice, Italy |
Blending the
architectural styles of East and West,
Venice's magnificent basilica was consecrated in 832 AD as an
ecclesiastical building to house the remains of
St. Mark.
St Mark's Basilica (
Basilica di San Marco) is one of the finest examples of
Byzantine architecture in the world. Located just off the
Grand Canal, the gleaming basilica overlooks the
Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) and adjoins the
Doge's Palace. In 828, Venetian merchants stole the
relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist from their original resting place in
Alexandria, Egypt. It is said the
Venetians hid the
relics in a barrel under layers of pork to get them past Muslim guards.
The relics were initially housed in a temporary chapel within the
Doge's Palace, but a more substantial church was built to shelter the valuable relics in 829-32. This burned in a rebellion against
Doge Pietro Candiano IV in 976, but was restored by
Doge Domenico Contarini (d. 1070). The present
St Mark's Basilica, which incorporates the earlier buildings, was completed around 1071. The Basilica di San Marco was the
chapel of the Doges, but in 1807, it became the
Cathedral of Venice. Exterior is decorated with
Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic art, the west
facade
is composed of two orders of five recessed arches, supported by
clusters of columns whose capitals were carved in the 12th and 13th
centuries. The delicate pinnacles and other decorations at the top of
the
facade are
Gothic additions of the 14th and 15th centuries.
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