San Marcos Basilica, Venice

At first I wasn't going to write a post about this church but changed my mind after learning its interesting history. I certainly don't want to forget my time at the basilica and figure you may find it interesting at the same time...?

I learned that the first basilica was built with a plain brick facade in 1084, used solely as a private chapel by the Doge of Venice (see post). Over the next century, the church became the ornate Byzantine structure it is today with its opulent design, gold inlaid mosaics and statues that symbolize Venetian wealth and power. As our guide reminded us, "the public in the early centuries didn't have newspapers to read what was happening, so buildings like this were decorated with the spoils of war to prove their victories in the latest conflicts."

As the story goes, the Venetians wanted to make this basilica special -- not just another church -- so they stole the body of the Apostle Mark who was buried in Alexandria Egypt, placed it under the basilica in Venice and called it Saint Mark's Cathedral! Apparently while the captors were in Egypt and after they unearthed the body, they placed Mark in a shipping container with pieces of pork on top so Muslim authorities would not touch the unclean meat and discover what was underneath. You may notice (in the following mural) a priest holding his nose when unpacking the body after it arrived in Venice. No doubt, the smell would have been pretty bad when considering the state of unrefrigerated pork after a 1500-mile voyage from Alexandria to Venice.

Every phase of this story is told via mural above the basilica entryways, from right to left: starting with them stealing the body, to viewing upon arrival in Venice, to carrying the remains inside the church.

You'll notice that some liberties were taken when painting these murals, such as giving the deceased a face and body when they carry him into the chapel... I suppose they couldn't really show a pile of bones which he was at that point! Today the remains of the Apostle Mark are buried underneath the altar at the front of the church.

Stories from the Old Testament are displayed in the portico (entry) of the church, while New Testament accounts are depicted throughout the interior of the church. Cameras were not allowed in the church so I am relying on this image from the internet to show the gold-plated opulence of the interior.

Typically, churches include paintings and sculptures of the 12 disciples of Christ but Mark was not a disciple but an apostle! The architects of St Mark's couldn't simply have the 12 disciples and not include Mark (the church's namesake) so they made sure 14 figures were displayed instead: the 12 disciples plus Mother Mary and Saint Mark. Architects also got around the fact that Mark was not a disciple by displaying the 4 writers of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) so that Mark's image could be shown throughout the chapel.

After my visit to St Mark's, I spent some time just lounging around the piazza in front of the basilica. There are a number of famous coffee shops where people of all flavors used to relax. Caffè Florian, established in 1720, patronized notable people including the playwright Carlo Goldoni, Goethe and Casanova, who was no doubt attracted by the fact that Caffè Florian was the only coffee house that allowed women. Later Lord Byron, Marcel Proust, and Charles Dickens were frequent visitors.