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:''For the Basilica di San Marco in Rome, see Basilica di San Marco (Rome).''
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'St Mark's Basilica' (Italian: 'Basilica di San Marco a Venezia'), the cathedral of Venice, is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies on St Mark's Square, adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace and has been the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice since 1807. For its opulent design, gilded Byzantine mosaics, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power from the 11th century on, the building was known by the nickname 'Chiesa d'Oro' ("church of gold").

Contents

Early history

The present building

Decoration

The Roman Horses

"The Four Tetrarchs"

External links

Early history

The first St Mark's was a temporary building in the Doge’s Palace, constructed in 828, when Venetian merchants acquired the supposed relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria. This was replaced by a new church on its present site in 832. The new church was burned in a rebellion in 976, rebuilt in 978 and again to form the basis of the present basilica in 1063. Recently, historian Andrew Chugg has suggested that the body of St. Mark interred in the Basilica may be the body of Alexander the Great. Chugg bases his theory on the fact that Alexander's body was "lost" at about the same time as the body of St. Mark was "found" in Alexandria and taken to Venice. A request by Professor Chugg to exhume the body of "St. Mark," and examine it, has been submitted to the Vatican. If approved (which is doubtful), Chugg proposes to perform radio-carbon dating on the reminants, and to search the body for Alexander the Great's well documented battle wounds, which would still be observable, and would confirm the identity of the body.

The present building

The church is based on a Greek cross inscribed in a square with each arm of the cross emphasized by a dome of its own. This is based on Justinian's Basilica of the Apostles in Constantinople. It has a raised choir with a crypt beneath. The plan of the interior consists of three longitudinal and three transverse naves. Over the high altar is a baldacchino on columns decorated with eleventh-century reliefs; the altarpiece is the famous ''Pala d'Oro'' (Golden Pall) [1], Byzantine metal-work of the year 1105, originally designed for an antependium. Behind the high altar is another altar with alabaster columns. The choir stalls are embellished with inlaying by Fra Sebastiano Schiavone, and above them on both sides are three reliefs by Sansovino. On the two marble pulpits of the ambo are statuettes by the Massegne brothers (1394). Also in the choir are Sansovino's bronze statues of the Evangelists and Caliari's of the Four Doctors.

The basilica was consecrated in 1094, the same year in which the body of Saint Mark was supposedly rediscovered in a pillar by Vitale Falier, doge at the time. The crypt then housed the relics until 1811. The building also incorporates a low tower, believed by some to have been part of the original Doge's Palace.
The spacious interior of the building with its multiple choir lofts was the inspiration for the development of a Venetian polychoral style among the composers appointed ''maestro di cappella'' at St Mark's. Most notable were the uncle and nephew organists and composers Andrea Gabrieli and Giovanni Gabrieli, who are often credited with the first use of instruments in sacred music in a church, as well as the development of antiphonal music.

Decoration

While the basic structure of the building has been little altered, its decoration changed greatly over time. The succeeding centuries, especially the fourteenth, all contributed to its adornment, and seldom did a Venetian vessel return from the Orient without bringing a column, capitals, or friezes, taken from some ancient building, to add to the fabric of the basilica. Gradually, the exterior brickwork became covered with various marbles and carvings, some much older than the building itself (see Four Tetrarchs, below). A new frontage was constructed and the domes were covered with higher wooden domes in order to blend in with the Gothic architecture of the redesigned Doge's Palace.
Inside, the walls were covered with mosaics, in a mixture of Byzantine and Gothic styles, while the floor is a twelfth century mixture of mosaic and marble in geometric patterns and animal designs. The mosaic contains gold, bronze, and the greatest variety of stones. The mosaics of the narthex show Old Testament narratives including a fine series showing the creation, on the right hand dome; inside the basilica, New Testament themes are shown, with marked Byzantine influence - the main domes show Pentecost, the Ascension, and the Pantocrator. These mosaics consist of tiles no larger than 1/4 inch across, according to Venezia tour guides.

The Roman Horses

The Horses of Saint Mark were installed on the basilica in about 1254. They date to Classical Antiquity; by some accounts they once adorned the Arch of Trajan. The horses were long displayed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, and in 1204 Doge Enrico Dandolo sent them back to Venice as part of the loot sacked from Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade. They were taken by Napoleon in 1797 but restored in 1815 and remained in place until the 1990s and now sit in an exhibition room, the horses now on the facade of the cathedral are bronze replicas. Since the bronze replicas were reflecting more light than normal, they artificially scratched the surface of the horses to reduce the reflection of light.

"The Four Tetrarchs"

As the Roman Empire began the process of disintegration, Emperor Diocletian imposed a new Imperial office structure: a four co-emperor ruling plan called "The Tetrarchy". This porphyry (purple marble) statue represents the inter-dependence of the four rulers. It was taken from Constantinople, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and set into the south-west corner of the basilica at the level of the Piazza San Marco. The missing foot of one of the figures was discovered in Istanbul in the 1960s, where it is still on display.

External links

★ Cathedral of San Marco, Venice

★ Satellite image from Google Maps