St Mark’s Basilica
The Church

Even though it quickly becomes clear inside that the architecture of the basilica is a blend of different styles — Byzantine, Arabic and Gothic — two features run consistently throughout: first, the gold; and second, the mosaics! It takes a moment for your mind to take in all the splendour. Perhaps that’s partly because very little light enters the basilica… even though each of its five domes has more than sixteen windows. 😉

There’s one hazard inside the church: a stiff neck! Everyone spends a long time looking upwards, “reading” the stories depicted in the mosaics. Each of the five main domes and fourteen smaller ones tells a different story — from the Pentecost Dome to the Creation Story in the narthex, or Christ as ruler of the world in the apse dome. Perhaps the most fascinating of all is the Ascension Dome from the 12th century, located in the central dome, which shows the risen Christ surrounded by a radiant aura.

But few visitors remember to look down! It’s well worth it (and it saves your neck), because the marble floor, also designed in a mosaic style, is truly captivating.

Info: The interior of the church is included with every type of ticket.

The Horses of St Mark
Mosaic Museum

If you have the time, it’s well worth visiting the upper floor of St Mark’s Basilica. Here you’ll find the Mosaic Museum (Museo Marciano / Museo di San Marco) and the Loggia dei Cavalli — the cathedral’s famous terrace with its stunning view. From this upper level, you also get a wonderful perspective of the church’s central nave.

The small Mosaic Museum may not be the most fascinating museum you’ll ever visit, but it’s a pleasant addition if you’re already inside the basilica.

However, there’s one true highlight to be found here: the four Horses of St Mark. These original sculptures once formed part of a quadriga (a four-horse chariot). The horses you see on the exterior of the basilica are actually replicas — the authentic ones are safely kept inside.

The original horse sculptures were looted from Constantinople in 1204 and brought to Venice. Emperor Constantine himself had previously taken them as spoils from another location. Their true origin, however, remains uncertain — they are in fact much older than the 4th century. Some believe they once stood on the Arch of Nero or the Arch of Hadrian in Rome, while others attribute them to the Greek sculptor Lysippos, who lived on Rhodes in the 4th century BC. What is known is that Constantine had them placed in the Hippodrome — the ancient horse-racing arena.

The horses are made of copper and were originally gilded. During restoration, it was discovered that they weren’t simply gilded — the gold surface had been delicately engraved to prevent them from shining too brightly in the sun.

In Venice, the horses were first stored in the Arsenal, and their historical and artistic value was not initially recognised — there were even plans to melt them down. Fortunately, they were spared and later placed on St Mark’s Basilica.

But their travels didn’t end there: Napoleon seized them — along with the gilded lion — and took them to Paris. (In fact, he also stole the Brandenburg Quadriga during his campaign in Germany.)

For a time, the Venetian horses adorned the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Thankfully, both sets of horses were eventually returned to their rightful homes. The Venetian quadriga’s return was decreed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, in the presence of Emperor Francis I and Metternich, when it was decided that the horses should be brought back to Venice, which at the time was under Austrian rule.

St Mark’s Basilica
The Exterior Façade

The façade of St Mark’s Basilica is divided into two levels. It is richly decorated and was designed to symbolise Venice’s status as a state church and its triumph over Constantinople.

There are five portals, each topped with mosaic-covered arches. The mosaics above the four side entrances tell, from south to north, the legend of the rescue and transfer of the relics of St Mark to the basilica.

Above the central main portal, The Last Judgement is depicted. The archivolts (the rounded arches above) date back to the 13th century and feature scenes of Venetian guilds, the twelve months, and allegories of the virtues.

At the peaks of the five arches stand the patron saints of Venice: Constantine, Demetrius, Mark, George and Theodore.

Naturally, St Mark stands at the centre, and beneath him we find the gilded winged lion — his enduring symbol.

1 Minute
Inside St Mark’s Basilica

A quick glimpse!

Of course, we’ve also filmed a short video for you inside St Mark’s Basilica. We don’t want to give too much away, though!

But it will give you a real sense of the church, the museum, and the stunning view.

Enjoy!

Céline

St Mark’s Basilica
A bit of History

St Mark’s Basilica is known in Italian as Basilica di San Marco — or, in full, Basilica Cattedrale Metropolitana Patriarcale di San Marco Evangelista.

The first church dedicated to St Mark was built at the beginning of the 9th century, when the relics of the Evangelist were already being kept here. St Mark then became the patron saint of Venice, replacing the earlier protector, St Theodore (just like that — tsk, tsk!). However, this first church was destroyed by fire in 976 — along with the Doge’s Palace, where the blaze is said to have started.

The basilica as we see it today was constructed between 1063 and 1094. According to legend, the relics of St Mark were miraculously rediscovered on 25 June 1094 — even though they had supposedly been lost in the fire… hmm. This date was declared a feast day: Inventio Sancti Marci.

During the 13th century, extensive alterations and additions were made. The domes were raised, a narthex (porch) was added, and the façade facing St Mark’s Square was redesigned. Only after this transformation could the domes be seen from the square — before that, they were hidden from view, which must have looked rather odd.

Another major phase of construction followed in the second half of the 14th century, during which the entire building was adapted in the style of Venetian Gothic. This process of building and embellishment continued well into the 17th century!

So yes — the Venetians can take their time building churches… just like the Catalans with the Sagrada Família 😉

St Mark’s Basilica is laid out in the form of a Greek cross. Unusually, not only the central crossing is topped with a dome — each arm of the cross also has one. This means that, when viewed from the Campanile, you can see five large domes in total.

This style of church is typical of Byzantine architecture — and Venice, of course, was under Byzantine rule for a long time. Even though the city was no longer politically dependent on Byzantium by the time the basilica and its later additions were built, its design still drew heavily from Byzantine models — at least up until the 13th century.

By the 14th century, however, as mentioned earlier, the architectural style had shifted towards Venetian Gothic.