Landmark
St Mark’s Basilica
Venice · Veneto
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Landmark
- COUNTRY
- Italy
- REGION
- Venice · Veneto
- DURATION
- 2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
St Mark’s Basilica is the cathedral of Venice, a building that looks more Byzantine than Italian — a Greek-cross plan crowned by five domes, its walls and vaults covered in more than 8,000 square metres of gold mosaics. It was begun in the late 11th century to house the relics of St Mark, which Venetian merchants famously smuggled out of Alexandria in 828, replacing the city’s earlier patron St Theodore. For centuries it was the private chapel of the Doge, not the city’s cathedral, which is why it sits attached to the Doge’s Palace rather than standing alone. The four bronze horses on the façade, the Pala d’Oro altarpiece and the treasury all reflect the republic’s eastern trade and the spoils of the Fourth Crusade.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
A first church dedicated to St Theodore stood on the site; when St Mark’s relics arrived in 828 a new church was begun to house them. That building burned in 976 and was rebuilt, but the present basilica was begun in 1063 under Doge Domenico Contarini and consecrated in 1094. Its design deliberately echoed the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, signalling Venice’s ambition and its eastern orientation. The mosaics were added and renewed over five centuries. The bronze horses on the façade were brought from Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade sacked the city in 1204, and the Pala d’Oro altarpiece was assembled and enlarged between the 10th and 14th centuries. The church only became Venice’s cathedral in 1807, after the fall of the republic.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The gold mosaics — the domes and vaults covered in 8,000 square metres of 11th- to 13th-century glass-and-gold tesserae, telling the story of St Mark and of Christian salvation.
The Pala d’Oro — the high altarpiece of enamelled gold and silver-gilt set with jewels, begun in the 10th century and enlarged for the republic.
The four bronze horses — the gilded copies on the façade (the originals are in the museum inside), brought from Constantinople in 1204.
The treasury — Byzantine and Islamic metalwork, reliquaries and icons gathered from the eastern Mediterranean.
The floor — undulating inlaid marble geometric patterns, raised and lowered by centuries of subsidence.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
St Mark’s is the building that most clearly tells you what Venice was: not an Italian city but a maritime power oriented to the East, trading with and ultimately plundering Byzantium. Its mosaics, its domes and its looted treasures are the record of that orientation, and the fact that it was the Doge’s private chapel for most of its history explains why it sits at the very centre of political power. For a visitor, it is the single most concentrated expression of Venice’s identity in one building.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
St Mark’s Basilica
St Mark’s Basilica, Venice, Veneto, Italy
45.4345, 12.3385
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Venice
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Osteria alle Testiere — a tiny seafood osteria near St Mark’s, one of Venice’s best, book well ahead
Cantina Do Mori — the oldest bacaro in Venice, near the Rialto, for cicchetti and a glass of ombra
Osteria Anice Stellato — a canal-side trattoria in Cannaregio, honest Venetian cooking off the tourist track
All’Arco — a Rialto bacaro serving cicchetti to market workers and visitors from early morning
Vini da Gigio — a Cannaregio institution for Venetian classics and a serious wine list
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Ca’ Sagredo Hotel — a 15th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal, a Relais & Châteaux property
Hotel Danieli, Luxury Collection — a historic palace near St Mark’s, with lagoon views
Novecento Boutique Hotel — a small, quiet hotel near the Accademia in Dorsoduro
B&B Rota — a family-run guesthouse in Cannaregio, good value for a quiet base
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
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