St. Mark's Basilica
History and Construction
When Venice had a big enough population to start calling itself a city, it was then added to the Byzantine Empire, while maintaining its own independence. In 697, Venice elected its first Doge, giving life to a new government: the Dogado (Maritime Empire). However, the event that really gave Venice its name took place in 828, when two Venetian merchants stole the Apostle Mark’s body from Alessandria in Egypt, and secretly transported it to Venice (2014). A huge church, consecrated in 1094, was built to house the remains of the Saint, who then became the patron saint of the city: The Basilica of San Marco.
Begun in 829, the Basilica of San Marco was built to enshrine the remains of the city's patron saint, San Marco, it was restored after a fire in 976. The designer of St. Mark’s is unknown. It is located in Venice and the rebuilding for it was finished around 1050 AD. (2004).The St. Mark’s Basilica is a church constructed by means of a bearing masonry (stones stacked one over the other) and timber frame domes (2006). Masonry typically involves the laying the masonry unit (MU) one layer at a time. A mortar is used to hold the MUs in place and provide them with strength and stability. Mortars can be of several types but the broad classification would be cement mortars, lime mortars and synthetic adhesives. Earth is also used as mortar in some parts of the world (2001). To learn more about bearing masonry click the button below!
Begun in 829, the Basilica of San Marco was built to enshrine the remains of the city's patron saint, San Marco, it was restored after a fire in 976. The designer of St. Mark’s is unknown. It is located in Venice and the rebuilding for it was finished around 1050 AD. (2004).The St. Mark’s Basilica is a church constructed by means of a bearing masonry (stones stacked one over the other) and timber frame domes (2006). Masonry typically involves the laying the masonry unit (MU) one layer at a time. A mortar is used to hold the MUs in place and provide them with strength and stability. Mortars can be of several types but the broad classification would be cement mortars, lime mortars and synthetic adhesives. Earth is also used as mortar in some parts of the world (2001). To learn more about bearing masonry click the button below!
Below you can see a floor plan of St. Mark's and notice that it the circles in the plan are the timber framed domes seen in the arial view of the Basilica pictured below the floor plan.
Piazza San Marco and Bell TowerSt. Mark's Square is commonly known to Venetians as The Piazza San Marco (No!! Not Pizza!!! Piazza!!!) and is filled with centuries of history and is still the symbolic heart of Venice; it has even been referred to as the drawing room of Europe. With the grand St. Mark's Church at one end, the Campanile Bell Tower ( the tallest building in Venice) rising in the middle and the elegant colonnaded arcade of famous cafes on three sides, it is a wonderful place to be - and the hundreds of pigeons think so too (2015).
"Sit and have coffee (you'll only be able to afford one) and watch the whole world pass by while a tuxedoed band plays. Then plunge north into the narrow streets full of shops leading towards the Rialto Bridge, or west into the city's pocket of high fashion designer stores finishing with an extremely expensive Bellini at Harry's Bar, the place that invented the peach/champagne drink. Alternately, head out of San Marco to the east and stroll the waterfront on the Riva" (2015). The Pigeons of the PiazzaThe Piazza San Marco is home to many pigeons and they tend to swarm the square, as seen in the picture above. The pigeons of Venice are highly respected.
"The pigeon is, if not actually sacred, at least highly respected in Venice. You will never be offered him roasted in a Venetian restaurant. On the contrary, sometimes invalid pigeons, having lost a leg perhaps in a more than usually unseemly scramble for peanuts, become known individually to the waiters at the Piazza cafés, and are thereafter privileged for life, allowed to preen themselves on unoccupied tables, and fed wonderfully sustaining morsels of toasted sandwich. Pigeons can get away with almost anything in Venice, and sometimes you will see one, all puffed up with pride, swaggering into the narthex of the Basilica San Marco itself" (Durant). The pigeons have caused much damage to the fragile mosaics on St. Mark's Basilica and to other buildings adjacent to the Piazza. Several attempts have been made to control the pigeon population but few have been even slightly successful. |
The Fire and ReconstructionThe San Marco we see today is the much-embellished third state of a church built, according to legend, soon after the arrival of Mark’s relics in 829. The first structure on the site suffered a disastrous fire in 976 and was extensively repaired or rebuilt shortly thereafter(McGregor).
It was later demolished and rebuilt in the 11th century in the Byzantine style.During the three centuries required for its completion, the city went from a sheltered refuge in a strange environment to a center of commerce and power (2004). Together with the Doge’s Palace to which it was physically and symbolically attached, St. Mark’s Basilica was the force that drew the island fragments of primitive Venice into a unified city (McGregor). In indirect but unmistakable ways, the basilica of San Marco mirrored the city’s increasing self-confidence and power. Left by its architects as a spare brick building based on a Byzantine model, the basilica eventually became so completely encrusted with donations from the faithful that its original form was swallowed up and these embellishments became its defining image (2004). Flooding in the PiazzaAs the tide rises, the waters from The Grand Canal flood into the Piazza San Marco almost 4 times a day! There are platforms in place for when this occurs, so that you can stand on them and wait for the flooding to go down! Below is a video showing what the Piazza looks like when flooded! It's pretty neat !
References: (2001). Load Bearing Masonry. Retrieved from http://theconstructor.org/constrution/load-bearing-masonry/2143/(2004). World Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001/acref-9780199546091-e-10170?rskey=8TWWWJ&result=10. (2006). Great Buildings and Architecture: St. Mark's Basilica. Retrieved from http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/St_Marks.html Barbierei,Nino. (2004). St. Mark's Basilica Facade. [Digital Image] . Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Venice_-_St._Mark's_Basilica_–_Lunetta_05.jpg. Available under Creative Commons Attribute 2.5. Fergunsson, James. (1855). Plan of St. Mark's. [Drawing]. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_of_St._Mark%27s,_Venice.jpg. Available under Creative Commons Attribute 2.5. Tille, A. (2004). St. Mark's Domes. [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Marco_(timberframedomes).jpg. Available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. Mehling, Ingo. (2003). Piazza San Marco in Venice. [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_San_Marco#/media/File:Venice_-_Piazza_San_Marco.jpg. Available under Creative Commons Attribute 3.0. Alejandro. (2007). San Marco Square Pigeons. [Digital Images]. Retrieved from http://pixabay.com/en/san-marco-square-venice-plaza-italy-380604/. Available under Creative Commons Deed CCO. (2015). St. Mark's Square, Venice. Retrieved from http://www.aviewoncities.com/venice/piazzasanmarco.htm Durant, Imboden. (2013). Pigeons of Venice. Retrieved from http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/pigeons_of_venice.htm. McGregor, James. (2008). “Venice from the Ground Up”. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. (2014). Venice Culture.Retrieved from http://www.veniceworld.com/venice_guide_history_culture.htm |