Located in Saint Mark’s Square, Saint Mark’s Basilica is a Catholic Church that quickly became a symbol for the city of Venice.
Its history began in 828 when Doge Giustinianzo Partecipazio thought of building a church in honor of St. Mark. The church was built but in 976 it was destroyed by a fire caused by rioters and the Doge chose to rebuild it two years later.
Even though the church was rebuilt, it’s not the same as the one we see today. Book a Venice tour with us to get lost in the beautiful St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice!
The history of St. Mark’s Basilica
St. Mark’s Basilica was built in 1063 and consecrated in 1094. The church caught on fire again though in 1231 and had to be restored again.
It was then gradually completed with the construction of its domes, the decorations of its facades, and the construction of the altars on the inside.
Because of these continuous and necessary restorations, this Church lived through many different architectural styles and is considered to be romanesque, byzantine, and gothic as well.
St. Mark’s Basilica is one of the most fascinating cathedrals in the world because of its different influences in style.
Interesting facts about St Mark’s Basilica
- What many do not know is that for centuries the role of cathedral of Venice was played by the church of San Pietro, in the Castello district. The Basilica of San Marco, in fact, became such only in 1807: before it was a state church run by the Doge and totally independent from the Patriarch of Venice;
- its domes were created according to Byzantine and Fatimid techniques;
- to carry Saint Mark’s body, they devised a plan: being in a predominantly Muslim place, they hid the saint in a chest and reached the port screaming “kanzir” (pork). In this way no one controlled them for fear of coming into contact with a flesh considered unclean;
- Inside the Basilica (where you can not take photographs), not far from the Pala d’Oro, there is a stone on which is depicted a black hedgehog. There was buried the heart of the doge Francesco Erizzo: the animal was the symbol of his family.
Nowadays St. Mark’s Basilica is a core element of both public and religious culture for Venetian citizens and it’s one of the most visited sites in Venice even when the city floods because of its high tide. In fact, you can visit the Basilica thanks to some catwalks that were placed specifically for the high tides!
