Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato - Venice, Venetto
Posted by: 
Torgut
N 45° 27.449 E 012° 21.411
33T E 293344 N 5037171
This basilica is located in the island of Murano, next to Venice, and it's the main religious building there.
Waymark Code: WM180J8
Location: Veneto, Italy
Date Posted: 05/04/2023
Views: 14
The island of Murano is less than 1 km NE of Venice and can be easily reached by vaporetto, the local boats used for passenger services.
Murano itself is very walkable and a visitor will soon come to this basilica, easily identifiable due to the tall bell tower, unattached from the main structure.
It's dated from the 7th century and considered the oldest religious building in the whole Venice area. Highlights are the Byzantine mosaic, from the 12th century, and the relics of Saint Donatus of Euroea.
From Wikipedia:
(
visit link)
"The church and its bell tower are built of dark red-brown brick, without plastering. The bell tower stands separately. The main entrance to the church faces west, but the most impressive facade is the colonnaded east side, which faces a canal.
The colourful stone mosaic floor of the church dates from around 1140. It measures over 500 square metres and is made of porphyry, serpentine, and other precious stones. The figural images include yoked cocks on who are carrying a fox",[2] a peacock, an eagle and griffins. It also includes geometric patterns that represent Christian themes.
The floor has undergone a number of conservation treatments sponsored by the non-profit organization Save Venice Inc., beginning in the 1970s. Most recently, emergency funds were allocated to help repair missing tesserae and mortar supports after the church was flooded by high tides in November and December 2019, submerging the mosaic floor in corrosive seawater several times over the course of weeks.
The relics of San Donato are located in a marble sarcophagus. Behind the altar there are four rib bones, hanging from wires. The bones are more than 1 metre long. According to legend, these are bones of the dragon slain by St. Donatus in Greece. It is possible that these bones are from large extinct Pleistocene mammals."