Piazza San Marco, St Mark's Square, centre of Venice and the heart of the public life through the centuries, is the appropriate start and finish of your stay in Venice.
Napoléon called it "the most beautiful drawing room of Europe" but added in
a much less quoted phrase "for wich it is only fitting that the heavens should serve as ceiling". At one end of the square the vaulted domes, columns and mosaics of the Basilica
church and on the other three sides the tell Renaissance buildings that shelter the arcades of shops, pubs and galleries.
Campanile
Start exploring the piazza with a view from the hundred-meter-high rectangular campanile. To venetians the bell tower is the paron de casa - master of the house.
This master has had a eventful past. In the thousand years in wich a campanile has loomed over the piazza, it has served as a watchtower, as punishment cell (prisoners were suspended
for days in a cage from the top), as lighthouse and observatory (Galileo demonstrated his telescopefrom the belfry in 1609).
On the moring of 14 July 1902, it split wide open and collapsed in apile of rubble. Rebuilding took ten years to complete.
Entrance to the campanile is trough the Logetta, a marble shelter built by Sansovino in 1540 fotr city councillors waiting to attend meetings in the great Council room of the Doge's Palace opposite.
It was rebuilt at the same time as the campanile, by piecing together every precious stone. From the Logetta it takes only seconds by Swiss elevator to reach the belfry wich is dominated by Marangona, the giant bell wich announced council meetings and now alarmingly at such close quarters strikes the hour.
This was the only one of the five bells to survive in the collapse of 1902.
There is a panoramic view from the balconies wich, helped by the venetian light, reaches north to the Alps and south to the Adriatic. Closer can be seen the islands in the Lagoon and the sestiere or district of San Marco,
similar in size to Central Park or Hyde park. This is an opportunity to identify the landmarks but curiously no canals.
Napoleon's wing
To study the perspective of the piazza, start at the far end beneath Ala Napoleonica, the Napoleonic wing, with its high attic facade decorated with statues of Roman emperors.
Leading off from its central portico is the State Entrance to what was the Royal Palace of Napoleon. From here, can be seen the complete sweep of the square - more correctly a trapezoid - bordered by the dignified lines of columns and arches.
Before exploring the arcades, climb the ceremonial staircase to the Coreer museum. This is the city's own museum, named after a wealthy 18th century patron, with displays of coins, dresses, portaits and furniture illustrating what the life was once like in this enigmatic city.
Back in the Piazza San Marco head towards the three flagpoles set in bronze pedestals symbolizing the old venetian possessions of Cyprus and Crete and designed in 1505 by goldsmith and sculptor Alessandro de'Leopardi.
While crossing the piazza, look ahead at the distinctive pattern built into the paving. Sculptor Andrea Tirali, inspired by a carpet design popular at that time, laid this out in the 18th century using light coloured granite flagstones and Istrian white stone. The squares originally marked the positions for the market stalls of the craftsmen's guilds.
Torre dell'Orologio
On the left of the square is the 15th century clock tower, Torre dell'Orologio. The dial shows the date, phase of the moon and zodiac sign and the two rectangular frames display the time - hours on the left, minutes to the right.
The two Moorish figures on the roof stike the hours as they have done for more than four centuries. During Ascension week, they are joined by the three Wise Men and an angel who appear every hour on the semi-cicular balcony below and bow the Madonna.
Basilica
The Basilica San Marco is the symbol of Venice's glory. This complex masterpiece of art is built in the form of a Greek cross- the four arms are of the same lenght - with oriental domes shielding the end of each one and
a fifth at the centre. The facade, glittering with mosaics, is at two levels with five entrance arches at ground level and five decorative arches above the terrace overlooking the square.
In the centre are the copies of the famous Four Horses. The 4th century originals are in the museum inside. Horses and Basilica can be seen depicted
in the mosaic over the first doorway Translation of the body of St Mark into the church. Dated 1260 to 1270, this is the earliest representation of the exterior and the only remaining untouched original mosaic.
At the inner entrance, the last arch of the central porch displays carvings ;of venetians 12th century craftsmen - boatbuilders, shoemakers and fishermen. These sculpures are the most important in Italy yet the name of the artist,
who also carved the columns supporting the canopy over the high altar, remains unknow. Steps lead down into the vestibule of the church where a white mark on a red marble slab, represents the Emperor frederick Barbarossa made peace with Pope Alexander III in 1177.
Because of the level of the 12th century floor, it is likely that il will be under water for at least an hour or two some 150 years before. That is why the bookstall is placed at the highest point.
Entering through them main door of the church, you step onto the Turkish capets spread out over the nave to protect the decorative 12th century paving and you 'll stand under the huge byzantine chandelier below the firts dome, Dome of Pentecost.
Proto Architect Ettore Vio is the present-day guardian of the Basilica, following a famous line of succession wich has included Sansovino and Longhena. He has a staff of forty as well as a mosaic workshop of twelve craftsmen. The Basilica, he judges, is in a better state
of preservation today than it has never been. Standing below the Dome of pentecost, he says , is the best vantage point to see the full effect of the mosaics. The dome dates from the mid-12th century and was probably the first to be decorated. Look around to see the light from the
narrow windows in the five domes striking the four thousand square metres of mosaics at every angle to produce the ever changing shimmering effect.
Move then to the centre of the church below the Dome of the Ascension, judged as the finest of the mosaic decorations.
All of the mosaic inside the basilica illustrate the New Testament.
In the four arches to the right, mid-13th century mosaic portray The life of Christ. This is also a good vantage point for studying the floor of the Basilica, stretching out like an uneven carpet of intricately patterned marble mosaics.
At the end of the transept, you find the Treasury : collection of Byzantine gold work including hundred of pieces looted from Constantinople in 1204, the marble Throne of St Mark from the 6th of 7th century, the Pyx -an 11th century gilded silver container-, and a 13th century
embossed silver binding of the Gospel of St Mark.
Along the transept to the centre of the church, the intricate screen divides the nave from the chancel and eight columns of dark marble support the parapet and statues of theVirgin, Apostles and St John the Evangelist by the delle masegne brothers.
Through this can be seen the high altar and the tomb of St Mark. The altar is protected by a green marble canopy supported by alabaster columns carved with scenes from the gospels.
Behind is Pala d'Oro, most famous of the treasures of the Basilica and the finest and largest example of the goldsmith's art. The screen was made in Constantinople in 976 and restored by Venetian crafstmen in 1105 and 1345.
At the two sides of the high altar on marble balustrades are bronze statuettes of the Four Evangelists by Jacopo Sansovino, a Florentine who in 1529 was appointed prot of the Basilica.
The last of many architectural masterpieces Sansovino created in the city is to the left behind the altar - the curved door in bronze with two reliefs in the centre panels representing
The resurrection
, The Entombment and at the edges
The prophets
.
Sansovino died in 1570, one year after it was completed. His tomb is in the baptistry to the right of the nave, a few metres away from the font he designed at the entrance.
The Four Horses in their original splendour are stabled in the Marciano Museum.
They are made of gilded bronze although it looks like copper. Another treasure is the 14th century painted cober for the Pala d'Oro by Paolo Veneziano.
