Basilica di San Marco / St. Mark's Basilica (Venice, Italy)
N 45° 26.057 E 012° 20.362
33T E 291892 N 5034639
...on Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) you can find one from the most precious jewel of Byzantine architecture - beautifull and in style very unusual Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica)...
Waymark Code: WM6DZ5
Location: Veneto, Italy
Date Posted: 05/19/2009
Views: 103
The original Romanesque basilica, built in the 9th century as a shrine for the saint's bones, was destroyed by fire in 967. Byzantine architects assisted in its reconstruction, the main fabric being completed ca 1071.
In the 12th and following centuries through alterations and elaborate adornments it became a splendid Byzantine monument, reflecting Venice's preeminent position in trade with the East. In the 14th century the facade received Gothic additions. The present structure is thus a mixture of Byzantine and Gothic and incorporates materials taken from temples and Eastern ruins. Its plan is a Greek cross, with a dome over the center and one over each arm of the cross. Across the west front extends a vestibule from which five portals open upon the Piazza San Marco. The facade is incrusted with marble slabs and mosaics. In the interior the lower walls are sheathed with veined marbles. The vaults and domes are completely covered with beautifully colored mosaics spread on a golden background. These varied materials combine into a unique harmonic architectural polychromy, effectively illuminated by a hazy light admitted through narrow openings in the domes.
The so-called Four Horses of St. Mark's, in gilded bronze, stand upon the gallery over the main entrance. The only existing specimen of an ancient quadriga, or monumental four-horse chariot, they may have originally adorned a Roman triumphal arch. They were found in Constantinople and in 1204 were brought to Venice. In 1797, Napoleon carried them off to Paris but in 1815 the horses were returned to Venice. In recent years they have suffered from the effects of atmospheric pollution.