Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (except the Piazzetta and the
Piazzale Roma
Piazzale Roma is a square in Venice, Italy, at the entrance of the city, at the end of the Ponte della Libertà. Piazzale Roma and nearby Tronchetto island are the only places in Venice's insular urban core accessible to ground motor vehicles, s ...
) are called ''campi'' ("fields"). The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an extension of the Piazza towards
San Marco basin
San Marco basin ( it, Bacino San Marco; vec, Basin de San Marco) in Venice, Italy, is an area of the Venetian Lagoon that faces the Riva degli Schiavoni and Doge's Palace of the San Marco
San Marco is one of the six sestieri of Venice, ...
in its southeast corner (see plan). The two spaces together form the social, religious and political centre of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and are commonly considered together. This article relates to both of them.
A remark usually attributed (though without proof) to
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
calls the Piazza San Marco "the drawing room of Europe".
Description
The square is dominated at its eastern end by
St Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Chu ...
. It is described here by a perambulation starting from the west front of the church (facing the length of the piazza) and proceeding to the right.
The church is described in the article
St Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Chu ...
, but there are aspects of it which are so much a part of the piazza that mentioned here, including the whole of its western facade with its great arches and marble decoration, the Romanesque carvings around the central doorway and, the four horses which preside over the whole piazza and are such potent symbols of the pride and power of Venice that the Genoese in 1379 said that there could be no peace between the two cities until these horses had been bridled; four hundred years later, Napoleon, after he had conquered Venice, had them taken down and shipped to Paris.
The
Piazzetta dei Leoncini is an open space on the north side of the church named after the two marble lions (presented by Doge Alvise Mocenigo in 1722), but now officially called the Piazzetta San Giovanni XXIII. The neo-classic building on the east side adjoining the Basilica is the Palazzo Patriarcale, the seat of the Patriarch of Venice.
Beyond that is
St Mark's Clocktower
The Clock Tower in Venice is an early Renaissance building on the north side of the Piazza San Marco, at the entrance to the Merceria. It comprises a tower, which contains the clock, and lower buildings on each side. It adjoins the eastern end of ...
(''Torre dell'Orologio''), completed in 1499, above a high archway where the street known as the Merceria (a main thoroughfare of the city) leads through shopping streets to the
Rialto
The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Rialto ...
, the commercial and financial centre. To the right of the clock-tower is the closed church of San Basso, designed by
Baldassarre Longhena
Baldassare Longhena (1598 – 18 February 1682) was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period.
Biography
Born in Venice, Longhena studied under the architect ...
(1675), sometimes open for exhibitions.
To the left is the long arcade along the north side of the piazza, the buildings on this side are known as the
Procuratie
The Procuratie (English: Procuracies) are three connected buildings along the perimeter of Saint Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. Two of the buildings, the Procuratie Vecchie (Old Procuracies) and the Procuratie Nuove (New Procuracies), were ...
Vecchie, the old procuracies, formerly the homes and offices of the
Procurators of St Mark, high officers of state in the days of the republic of Venice. They were built in the early 16th century. The arcade is lined with shops and restaurants at ground level, with offices above. The restaurants include the famous
Caffè Quadri
Caffè Quadri () is a coffeehouse located in the Procuratie Vecchie of Piazza San Marco, Venice. It was established in 1775.
The restaurant underwent a first important renovation in 1830, under the management of the Vaerini brothers, who expande ...
, which was patronized by the Austrians when Venice was ruled by Austria in the 19th century, while the Venetians preferred Florian's on the other side of the piazza.
Turning left at the end, the arcade continues along the west end of the piazza, which was rebuilt by Napoleon about 1810 and is known as the Ala Napoleonica (Napoleonic Wing). It holds, behind the shops, a ceremonial staircase which was to have led to a royal palace but now forms the entrance to the
Museo Correr
The Museo Correr () is a museum in Venice, northern Italy. Located in St. Mark's Square, Venice, it is one of the 11 civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. The museum extends along the southside of the square on the upper ...
(Correr Museum).
![Horses of Basilica San Marco bright](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Horses_of_Basilica_San_Marco_bright.jpg)
Turning left again, the arcade continues down the south side of the Piazza. The buildings on this side are known as the Procuratie Nuove (new procuracies), which were designed by
Jacopo Sansovino
Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...
in the mid-16th century but partly built (1582–86) after his death by Vincenzo Scamozzi apparently with alterations required by the procurators and finally completed by Baldassarre Longhena about 1640. Again, the ground floor has shops and also the
Caffè Florian
Caffè Florian is a coffee house situated in the Procuratie Nuove of Piazza San Marco, Venice. It was established in 1720 and is the oldest coffee house in continuous operation in Italy, and one of the oldest in the world (the oldest being Café ...
, a famous cafe opened in 1720 by Floriano Francesconi, which was patronised by the Venetians when the hated Austrians were at Quadri's. The upper floors were intended by Napoleon to be a palace for his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais, his viceroy in Venice, and now houses the Museo Correr. At the far end the Procuratie meet the north end of Sansovino's Libreria (mid-16th century), whose main front faces the piazzetta and is described there. The arcade continues round the corner into the Piazzetta.
Opposite to this, standing free in the piazza, is
St Mark's Campanile
St Mark's Campanile ( it, Campanile di San Marco, ) is the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy. The current campanile is a reconstruction completed in 1912, the previous tower having collapsed in 1902. At in height, it is the tal ...
(1156–73 last restored in 1514), rebuilt in 1912 ''com'era, dov'era'' ("as it was, where it was") after the collapse of the former campanile on 14 July 1902. Adjacent to the campanile, facing towards the church, is the small building known as the
Loggetta del Sansovino
The Loggetta is a small, richly decorated building at the base of the bell tower in Saint Mark's Square, Venice, Italy. Built by Jacopo Sansovino between 1538 and 1546, it served at various times as a gathering place for nobles and for meetings ...
, built by Sansovino in 1537–46 and used as a lobby by patricians waiting to go into a meeting of the Great Council in the
Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...
and by guards when the council was sitting.
Across the piazza in front of the church are three large mast-like flagpoles with bronze bases decorated in high relief by
Alessandro Leopardi
Alessandro Leopardi (sometimes called Leopardo) (1466 – 1512) was a Venetian sculptor, bronze founder and architect.
Biography
Leopardi was born and died in Venice. He is first heard of in 1482 and is said to have worked at the mint. He wa ...
in 1505. The Venetian flag of St Mark used to fly from them in the time of the republic of Venice and now shares them with the Italian flag.
File:Venezia-Piazza di S. Marco colle Procuratie vecchie e nuove LCCN2002716889.jpg, Procuratie Vecchie and Procuratie Nuove, 1890
File:Venezia Blick vom Campanile der Basilica di San Marco auf die Piazza San Marco 1.jpg, The Piazza seen from the Campanile
File:Venezia Basilica di San Marco Terrasse Blick auf den Torre dell'Orologio 1.jpg, The Clocktower with the archway into the Mercerie leading to the Rialto
File:Loggetta of Campanile di San Marco, Venice, Italy.jpg, The Loggetta at the foot of the Campanile (built by Sansovino 1537–46); rebuilt after the fall of Campanile in 1902
File:Piazza San Marco Venice Italy (104466311).jpeg, Piazza San Marco at night
File:Quadri-Moretti, Piazza San Marco (1831), 06.jpg, Elevation of the Procuratie Vecchie (), print from Quadri-Moretti (1831)
File:Quadri-Moretti, Piazza San Marco (1831), 10.jpg, Elevation of the Procuratie Nuove (), print from Quadri-Moretti (1831)
File:Procuratie vecie in piazza San Marco a Venezia.jpg, Procuratie Vecchie built by Bartolomeo Bon the Younger ()
File:Procuratie vecie dettaglio finestre a Venezia.jpg, Detail of the windows of Procurate Vecchie
File:Procuratie Nuove in Piazza San Marco, Venice during carnival Feb 1993.jpg, Procuratie Nuove built by Vincenzo Scamozzi () adapting a design by Sansovino (during Carnival 1993)
Description of the Piazzetta
The Piazzetta di San Marco is, strictly speaking, not part of the Piazza but an adjoining open space connecting the south side of the Piazza to the waterway of the lagoon. The Piazzetta lies between the
Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...
on the east and
Jacopo Sansovino
Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...
's Biblioteca (Library) which holds the
Biblioteca Marciana
The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositori ...
on the west.
At the corner near the campanile, this (west) side is occupied entirely by the Biblioteca (Library) designed by Jacopo Sansovino to hold the Biblioteca Marciana (library of St Mark). Building started in 1537 and it was extended, after the death of Sansovino, by
Vincenzo Scamozzi
Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most important figure th ...
in 1588–91. The building was said by
Palladio
Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...
to be "the most magnificent and ornate structure built since ancient times". The arcade continues to the end of the building with cafés and shops and also the entrances to the Archaeological Museum, the Biblioteca Marciana and the National Library, which occupy the floors above.
At the end of this building is the Molo (the quay fronting the lagoon) and the adjoining building to the right is the
Zecca (mint) also by Sansovino (completed 1547) and now part of the Biblioteca Marciana. Turning to the left at the end of the Biblioteca one crosses the open end of the Piazzetta marked by
two large granite columns carrying symbols of the two patron saints of Venice. The first is
Saint Theodore, who was the patron of the city before St Mark, holding a spear and with a crocodile to represent the dragon which he was said to have slain. This is made up of parts of antique statues and is a copy (the original is kept in the Doge's Palace). The second (eastern) column has a creature representing a
winged lion
The winged lion is a mythological creature that resembles a lion with bird-like wings.
Mythical adaptations
The winged lion is found in various forms especially in ancient and medieval civilizations.
There were different mythological adaptions f ...
— the ''
Lion of Venice
The Lion of Venice is an ancient bronze sculpture of a winged lion in the Piazza San Marco of Venice, Italy, which came to symbolize the city – as well as one of its patron saints, St Mark – after its arrival there in the 12th century. T ...
'' — which is the symbol of St Mark. This has a long history, probably starting as a winged lion-griffin on a monument to the god Sandon at
Tarsus in Cilicia (Southern Turkey) about 300 BC. The columns are now thought to have been erected about 1268, when the water was closer and they would have been on the edge of the lagoon, framing the entry to the city from the sea. Gambling was permitted in the space between the columns and this right was said to have been granted as a reward to the man who first raised the columns. Public executions also took place between the columns.
![Palazzo Ducale 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Palazzo_Ducale_2008.jpg)
On the far side of the Piazzetta is the side wall of the Doge's Palace with Gothic arcades at ground level and a loggia on the floor above. Up to the seventh pillar from the front this is the building as rebuilt in 1340, while the extension towards the Basilica was added in 1424. The capitals of the columns of the extended part are mostly copies of those in the front of the Palace.
The seventh pillar is marked by a tondo (circular sculpture) of Venice as Justice above the first floor loggia. To the left of this, there are two red pillars in front of the first-floor loggia, contrasting with the other pillars which are of white Istrian stone. The red pillars are made of
red Verona marble
Red Verona marble is a variety of limestone rock which takes its name from Verona in Northern Italy.
It includes internal skeletons of ammonites and belemnoidea rostra in a fecal pellets matrix. It has been quarried from Red Ammonitic ''facies'' ...
. They may have framed the Doge's chair on ceremonial occasions, but it seems that important malefactors found guilty of crimes against the state would sometimes be executed there.
On the rear corner of the Doge's Palace is a sculpture of the Judgment of Solomon with the archangel Gabriel above. The sculptors are not known. Set back from this corner is the Porta della Carta, the ceremonial entrance to the palace, built in fine Gothic style in 1438–43, probably by Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon. Again, there is at the top a figure of Venice as Justice, the theme of fair judgment and justice being much emphasised on this side of the palace. Below this, the head of Doge Francisco Foscari and the lion before which he is kneeling were replaced in 1885, the originals having been destroyed on French orders in 1797. The statues on either side of the gateway represent the cardinal virtues of Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Charity.
Next to this, on an outside corner of the basilica of St Mark, are four antique figures carved in porphyry, a very hard red granite. They are usually known as the Tetrarchs and said to represent the four joint rulers of the Roman Empire appointed by Diocletian and were formerly thought to be Egyptian. It is now thought probable (or, at least very possible) that they represent the sons of the Emperor
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
, praised for their loving co-operation on his death in 337, especially as the work originally stood in the Philadelphion (Place of Brotherly Love) in Constantinople, where the missing foot of one of the figures has been found.
Beyond this, in front of the South wall of the Basilica are two rectangular pillars always known as the Pillars of Acre. They were thought to be booty taken by the Venetians from Acre after their great victory over the Genoese there in 1258, but this traditional story has also had to be revised. The pillars actually came from the church of
St Polyeuktos in Constantinople (524-7), and were probably taken by the Venetians soon after the fourth crusade in 1204. The ruins of this church were discovered in 1960 and it was excavated in the 1990s, when capitals were found, which matched the pillars.
Beyond these pillars, opposite the corner of the Basilica, is a great circular stone of red porphyry known as the Pietra del Bando (Proclamation Stone) from which official proclamations used to be read. It has been suggested that this may have formed part of a column on which the so-called Tetrarchs stood.
Across the water (the ''Bacino di San Marco'') at the end of the Piazzetta can be seen the island of
San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore ( vec, San Zorzi Mazor) is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It ha ...
and the brilliant white facade of Palladio's church there.
File:Venice - Zecca - Libreria Marciana.jpg, The Zecca and the south end of the Biblioteca from the lagoon
File:Column of San Teodoro in Piazzetta San Marco (Venice).jpg, St Theodore on the western column
File:Lion of Venice, Piazzetta San Marco.jpg, The ''Lion of Venice
The Lion of Venice is an ancient bronze sculpture of a winged lion in the Piazza San Marco of Venice, Italy, which came to symbolize the city – as well as one of its patron saints, St Mark – after its arrival there in the 12th century. T ...
'' in Piazzetta
File:4392 - Venezia - Pietro Lamberti o Nanni di Bartolo, Giudizio di Salomone - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 8-Aug-2007.jpg, Judgment of Solomon on N.W. corner of the Doge's Palace
File:Palazzo Ducale (Venice) - Porta della carta.jpg, The Porta della Carta by Giovanni & Bartolomeo Bon
File:Venice - Doge's Palace - Porta della Carta.jpg, Porta della Carta (central part)
File:Venice – The Tetrarchs 03.jpg, The figures carved in porphyry and known as the Tetrarchs
File:Pillars from St Polyeuktos Constantinople outside south wall of San Marco in Piazzetta Venice known as Pillars of Acre.jpg, The Pillars from St Polyeuktos, Constantinople, generally known as the Pillars of Acre
History
The history of the Piazza San Marco can be conveniently covered in four periods, but the only pre-renaissance buildings and monuments still standing there are St Mark's, the Doge's Palace and the two great columns in the Piazzetta.
Beginnings (800–1100)
The first patron saint of Venice was
St Theodore, a Greek warrior saint, and the first chapel of the Doge was dedicated to him. It was probably built about 819 and stood near the site of the present church of St Mark. In 828–829 relics of
St Mark
Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...
were stolen from Alexandria and brought to Venice, and in time the Venetians and the Doge adopted the apostle as their new patron. He was the missionary-apostle who was said to have converted their district; the relics of an apostle would increase the importance of the city and their acquisition was a further step in the gradual process of freeing Venice from the domination of
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
. The relics were temporarily placed in the palace (or castle) of the Doge, Justinian Partecipacius, who provided in his will for a new church to be built. This first church of St Mark was begun on the south side of the existing chapel; by 836 construction was sufficiently advanced for the relics to be moved there. The design of the church was based on the
Church of the Twelve Apostles
The Patriarchal Chambers and the Church of the Twelve Apostles () is a minor cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, commissioned by Patriarch Nikon as part of his stately residence in 1653 and dedicated to Philip the Apostle three years later. Now it ...
in Constantinople and it seems to have covered the same area as the central part of the present church. A campanile was first built in the time of Doge Pietro Tribuno (888–91).
At that time there was probably an empty space covered with grass in front of the new church, but it cannot have extended more than about 60 metres to the west, where there was a stream (the Rio Baratario) bisecting the area now occupied by the Piazza. On the other side of this stream was
a small church dedicated to San Geminiano. The Doge's palace, in the same area as its modern successor, was at that time surrounded by water. The lagoon was to the south, the Rio di Palazzo (the canal beneath the
Bridge of Sighs
The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...
) to the east, and another stream to the north between the palace and the church. There was an inlet from the lagoon occupying much of the space now covered by the Piazzetta and this seems to have been used as a dock for the city.
In 976 there was a rebellion against the Doge and the church was set on fire. The wooden parts, including the roof and wooden dome, were probably lost, but the church was not completely destroyed and it seems to have been rebuilt much as before. In 1063 a complete rebuilding commenced. The new church was finished in the time of Doge
Vitale Falier (1084–96), and in its main structure this is the present church, though the west front facing the Piazza was then in the
Romanesque style with undecorated brickwork (like the exterior of the apse today). It had five domes, but their exterior profile was low, unlike the present high, onion-shaped structures.
Medieval piazza (1100–1490)
Great changes to the area came when
Sebastiano Ziani
Sebastiano Ziani was Doge of Venice from 1172 to 1178. He was one of the greatest planners of Venice.
During his short term as Doge, Ziani divided the city-state into many districts. He realised that the government headquarters were too close ...
was Doge (1172–78). Venice was growing in importance and the Doge was a very wealthy man. He initiated the changes which created the piazza as we know it. The Rio Baratario was filled in and the church of San Geminiano on the far side was demolished and rebuilt much farther back at the western end of what became the Piazza. An orchard which occupied part of the area was acquired from the convent of San Zaccharia and the Doge bought up a number of buildings which obstructed the site. By his will he left these buildings to the state and in due course they were demolished to clear the area. The rebuilding of the 9th-century Doge's palace also commenced in his time as Doge. The precise date of the various new buildings is not known and much must have been done in the time of his son,
Pietro Ziani
Pietro Ziani (died in Venice, 13 March 1230) was the 42nd Doge of Venice from 15 August 1205 to 1229, succeeding Enrico Dandolo. He was the son of Doge Sebastian Ziani of the very rich noble family. He was married to Maria Baseggio and Consta ...
, who was Doge from 1205 to 1229.
The area of the piazza was now defined by the erection of buildings on the north and south sides. On the north side were the procuratie, residences and offices for the procurators of St Mark. The original procuratie were a range of two-storey buildings with a continuous arcade of stilted (i.e. tall and narrow) Byzantine arches below and a single storey above, with two windows above each arch. The ground floor rooms were let out for shops to provide an income. These buildings remained in place for about 300 years and we can see exactly how they looked in 1496 in Gentile Bellini's painting of a procession in the piazza. This painting also shows the buildings on the opposite (south) side of the Piazza, of which the most important was the Ospizio Orseolo, an inn or hostel for pilgrims going to the Holy Land. It can be seen that the piazza was then considerably narrower than it is today, because these buildings abutted directly against the west wall of the campanile.
In 1204,
Constantinople was captured in the course of the 4th Crusade and, both at that time and later during the 13th century, much valuable material was taken from the city and shipped back for the adornment of Venice. This included marbles and pillars for the facade of St Mark's, the two square pillars in the piazzetta known (wrongly) as the Pillars of Acre and probably also the Pietra del Bando (near the south west corner of St Mark's) and the four porphyry figures known as the Tetrarchs, which were eventually installed near the entrance to the Doge's Palace from the piazzetta.
The two great granite columns in the Piazzetta are usually said to have been erected about 1170, but it is now thought more probable that this was done in the time of Doge Ranieri Zeno (1253–68) about 1268; the bases and capitals are 13th-century. Their origin is unknown, but Chios is suggested as possible. The lion is first mentioned in a decree of the Great Council in 1293, and the wording makes it clear that it was already on the pillar at that date. A statue of St Theodore (but not the present statue) was in place by 1329.
It was also at this time, in the later 13th century, that St Mark's was being given its new west facade embellished with marble and mosaics and trophies from Constantinople, including the four horses.
The original 9th-century Doge's palace was soon found too small for the number of patricians sitting on the Great Council after the right to do so was made hereditary in 1297, and rebuilding started in 1340. Work was held up by the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
in 1348 but the first stage was completed by 1365. This comprised the front part of the palace facing the lagoon, but in the Piazzetta the new building only extended to the seventh pillar back from the front corner, now marked by a circular relief of Venice as Justice on the outside of the first-floor arcade. Further back, part of the old palace, known as the Palace of Justice, remained, much as it had stood for about 200 years.
Because of the great expense involved, nothing more was done for many years, but in 1422 the Doge Tomaso Mocenigo insisted that for the honour of the city the remaining part of the old palace should be demolished and the new part extended. It was resolved that the existing facade should be continued in the same style, and work started in 1424 under the new Doge
Francesco Foscari
Francesco Foscari (19 June 1373 – 1 November 1457) was the 65th Doge of the Republic of Venice from 1423 to 1457. His reign, the longest of all Doges in Venetian history, lasted 34 years, 6 months and 8 days, and coincided with the inception o ...
. The extended facade had reached the corner by 1438 and the point where the 15th-century part joins the 14th-century part can only be recognised by the circular relief of Justice above the seventh pillar from the front corner and the fact that that pillar is larger than the others, having held up the corner of the building for 80 years. The capitals on this facade are, for the most part, copies of the existing capitals on the front facade. The last pillar, at the north-western corner of the building, is a very large column and, continuing the theme of Justice, bears a large relief carving of the Judgment of Solomon, with the archangel Gabriel above it. The sculptor is not known, although various suggestions have been made including Bartolomeo Buon from Venice and Jacopo della Quercia from Siena and several art historians think that the sculpture of the Judgment of Solomon (which must have been made in the period 1424/38) shows influence from Tuscany. Eduardo Arslan, after reviewing all the theories in 1971, concluded that this sculpture "remains for us a great mystery".
In 1438 a contract was made with Giovanni and Bartolomeo Buon for the construction of a great ceremonial doorway into the palace. This was the Porta della Carta and connected the newly constructed wing of the palace with the south wall of St Mark's. Giovanni was nearing the end of his life and the gateway is mainly the work of Bartolomeo. It was completed by 1442 and included a sculpture of the Doge Francesco Foscari kneeling before the lion of St Mark. The statues of the cardinal virtues on either side were by another hand. Originally the whole gateway was painted and gilded. This is just visible in the right background of Gentile Bellini's painting of 1496, which shows the piazza in its state at this time, still narrow and with the old 13th-century buildings on either side.
From the Renaissance to the fall of the Republic (1490–1797)
In 1493 an astronomical clock was commissioned by Venice and it was decided to install it in a new
clocktower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildin ...
in the Piazza with a high archway beneath it leading into the street known as the Merceria, which leads to the Rialto. The building, which was probably designed by Codussi, was started in 1496, a section of the original Procuratie being demolished for the purpose. The building was completed with the clock installed by February 1499. It can be seen, flanked by the original Procuratie building, in
de Barbari's woodcut of Venice in 1500. The Procuratie then were only two storeys high and the tower stood higher above them than it does today.
![DeBarbari pducale](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/DeBarbari_pducale.JPG)
Buildings on either side to support the tower were added by 1506 and in 1512, when there was a fire in the old Procuratie, it became obvious that the whole range would have to be rebuilt.
Despite the fact that Venice was then at war with much of Europe (
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
) the whole of the south side of the Piazza was rebuilt, starting in 1517. The new buildings, known today as the Procuratie Vecchie, were three storeys high instead of two. Like the previous Procuratie they had an arcade on the ground level with two windows above each arch, but without the high Byzantine arches and with classical details.
In 1527
Jacopo Sansovino
Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...
came to Venice, fleeing from the
sack of Rome, and by 1529 he had been appointed as Proto (consultant architect and buildings manager) to the Procurators of St. Mark. The Procurators wished to rebuild the old buildings on the south side of the Piazza, but Sansovino persuaded them that the opportunity should be taken to enlarge the Piazza and that these buildings should be demolished and the building line moved back clear of the campanile. He also convinced them that the old hostelries and shops on the west side of the Piazzetta opposite the Doge's Palace should be replaced by a new building worthy of the site. It was decided that the
library of books and manuscripts, which had been bequeathed to the city by Cardinal Bessarion but had still not found a permanent home, should be housed there and Sansovino originally intended that the facade of this building (the Libreria) should eventually be continued along the south side of the Piazza and round the south-west corner as far as the church of San Geminiano in the middle of the west side. These changes also made it necessary to rebuild the Loggetta and at the same time the government of Venice had commissioned Sansovino to rebuild the mint (the
Zecca) on the west side of the Libreria. All these works were proceeding together for many years after 1537. The new Loggetta was complete by 1545 and the Zecca by 1547 (though a third storey was added by 1566), but work on the Libreria was held up by the difficulty of finding new premises for the businesses which were displaced as well as by shortage of funds and only sixteen bays (out of twenty-one) had been finished before the death of Sansovino in 1570. By that date it had not yet been possible to start on the rebuilding of the south side of the Piazza beyond the Libreria.
Sansovino also completed the rebuilding of the old church of San Geminiano at the west end of the Piazza, facing St Mark's. Much of the work had been done before he took it over in 1557, but he was responsible for the facade in white Istrian stone. He also continued the range of Procuratie Vecchie on the north side of the Piazza round the corner as far as this church.
After the death of Sansovino funds were at last made available to start the rebuilding of the south side of the Piazza in its new position well clear of the campanile. His idea of a two-storey building continuing the facade of the Libreria had to be abandoned, as the Procurators required three storeys. However
Vincenzo Scamozzi
Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most important figure th ...
based the design on the facade of the Libreria and completed ten bays between 1582 and 1586, The Procuratie Nuove (New Procuracies), as they are called, were not completed until 1640, when the remaining bays on the south side were completed and continued round the corner to the church of San Geminiano by
Baldassarre Longhena
Baldassare Longhena (1598 – 18 February 1682) was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period.
Biography
Born in Venice, Longhena studied under the architect ...
.
Napoleon and later (1797 onwards)
Venice surrendered to Napoleon on 12 May 1797. By 4 June a "Tree of Liberty" had been placed in the Piazza. Soon afterwards stonemasons were sent out on the orders of the Municipality to destroy images of the winged lion, which was seen as a symbol of Venetian independence and aristocratic rule. On the Porta della Carta in the Piazzetta the head of Doge Francesco Foscari was removed as well as that of the lion before which he was kneeling. (They were replaced by copies later in the century). The French ordered the
four horses of San Marco to be taken down and sent to Paris together with the bronze lion on the column in the Piazzetta. They were removed in December 1797.
In January 1798 under the Treaty of Campoformio the Austrians moved into Venice in place of the French. This first Austrian ascendancy lasted from 1798 to 19 January 1806, when the French moved back after Napoleon's victories at
Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to:
History
* Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte
Places
* Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz a ...
and
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
and his establishment of the kingdom of Italy in 1804. Napoleon appointed his stepson
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second marr ...
as his viceroy and in 1807 it was ordered that the Procuratie Nuove were to become the royal palace for his occupation. Napoleon himself paid a ceremonial visit to Venice later in 1807, landing at the Piazzetta on his way to the new palace.
![Venice Piazza San Marco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Venice_Piazza_San_Marco.JPG)
It was decided that the new palace should extend across the whole of the west end of the Piazza and this made it necessary to demolish the church of San Geminiano, rebuilt by Sansovino, and also the buildings on either side, Sansovino's extension of the Procuratie Vecchie to the north and part of the Procuratie Nuove to the south. The original architect was
Gianni Antolini from Milan, but the new building caused much controversy and in 1810 he was replaced by Giovanni Soli from Modena. The present building, known as the Ala Napoleonica (the Napoleonic Wing) was built between 1810 and 1813. The facade of the two lower storeys is in the manner of the Procuratie Nuove, but the upper storey, containing the ceremonial entrance and the ballroom, has no windows or arches and is decorated with statues and sculpture in low relief. In the centre there was originally to have been a statue of Napoleon as Jupiter with the imperial arms above, but this was abandoned after the fall of Napoleon in 1814 and there is now no focal point on the west side of the Piazza.
After the abdication of Napoleon the Austrians re-occupied Venice (under the
Treaty of Fontainebleau) in April 1814. The Austrian chancellor, Prince
Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...
, was instrumental in arranging the return to Venice of the four horses of St Mark and the lion from the Piazzetta. The horses were re-installed in front of the Basilica on 13 December 1815, but the bronze lion had been badly broken and had to be repaired. It was placed back on its pillar in April 1816.
Pavement
The Piazza was paved in the late 12th century with bricks laid in a
herringbone pattern
The herringbone pattern is an arrangement of rectangles used for floor tilings and road pavement, so named for a fancied resemblance to the bones of a fish such as a herring.
The blocks can be rectangles or parallelograms. The block edge length ...
. Bands of light-colored stone ran parallel to the long axis of the main piazza. These lines were probably used in setting up
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
stalls and in organizing frequent ceremonial processions. This original pavement design can be seen in paintings of the late Middle Ages and through the Renaissance, such as
Gentile Bellini
Gentile Bellini (c. 1429 – 23 February 1507) was an Italian painter of the school of Venice. He came from Venice's leading family of painters, and at least in the early part of his career was more highly regarded than his younger brother Giova ...
's ''
Procession in Piazza San Marco'' of 1496.
In 1723 the bricks were replaced with a more complex geometrical pavement design laid out by Venetian architect
Andrea Tirali
Andrea Tirali (around 1660–1737) was an Italian architect working in Venice and the Veneto. He was responsible for the intricate design of the pavement in the Piazza San Marco in Venice (from 1723).oriental rugs
An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in " Oriental countries" for home use, local sale, and export.
Oriental carpets can be pile woven or flat woven without pile, using v ...
, a popular luxury item in this trading centre.
![Canaletto - The Piazza San Marco in Venice - Google Art Project](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Canaletto_-_The_Piazza_San_Marco_in_Venice_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
A field of dark-colored igneous
trachyte
Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...
with geometrical designs executed in white
Istrian stone
Istrian stone, ''pietra d'Istria'', the characteristic group of building stones in the architecture of Venice, Istria and Dalmatia, is a dense type of impermeable limestones that was quarried in Istria, nowadays Croatia; between Portorož and Pu ...
, similar to
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...
composed the design. Squares of diagonally laid blocks alternated with rectangular and oval designs along broad parallel bands. The squares were pitched to the centre, like a bowl, where a drain conducted surface water into a below-grade drainage system. The pattern connected the central portal of the Basilica with the centre of the western opening into the piazza. This line more closely parallels the façade of the Procuratie Vecchie, leaving a nearly triangular space adjacent to the Procuratie Nuove with its wider end closed off by the Campanile. The pattern continued past the campanile, stopping at a line connecting the three large flagpoles and leaving the space immediately in front of the Basilica undecorated. A smaller version of the same pattern in the Piazzetta paralleled
Sansovino's Library, leaving a narrow trapezoid adjacent to the Doge's palace with the wide end closed off by the southwest corner of the Basilica. This smaller pattern had the internal squares inclined to form non-
orthogonal
In mathematics, orthogonality is the generalization of the geometric notion of ''perpendicularity''.
By extension, orthogonality is also used to refer to the separation of specific features of a system. The term also has specialized meanings in ...
quadrilaterals.
The overall alignment of the pavement pattern serves to visually lengthen the long axis and reinforce the position of the Basilica at its head. This arrangement mirrors the interior relationship of nave to altar within the cathedral.
As part of the design, the level of the piazza was raised by approximately one meter to mitigate flooding and allow more room for the internal drains to carry water to the Grand Canal.
In 1890, the pavement was renewed "due to wear and tear". The new work closely follows Tirali's design, but eliminated the oval shapes and cut off the west edge of the pattern to accommodate the Napoleonic wing at that end of the Piazza.
Flooding
![Piazza San Marco il 4 novembre 1966](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Piazza_San_Marco_il_4_novembre_1966.jpg)
The Piazza San Marco is not far above sea level and during the ''
Acqua Alta
(, ; ) is the term used in Veneto, Italy for the exceptional tide peaks that occur periodically in the northern Adriatic Sea.
The peaks reach their maximum in the Venetian Lagoon, where they cause partial flooding of Venice and Chioggia; flood ...
'', the "high water" from storm surges from the Adriatic or heavy rain, it is quick to flood. Water pouring into the drains in the piazza runs directly into the Grand Canal. This normally works well but, when the sea is high, it has the reverse effect, with water from the lagoon surging up into the square. A historically important flood was the
1966 Venice flood
The 1966 Venice flood ( it, Alluvione di Venezia del 1966) was an unprecedented high water, known in Venice as an "''acqua alta"'', with waters reaching up to 194 cm.
Overview
On November 4, 1966, an abnormal occurrence of high tides, rain- ...
, when an abnormal occurrence of high tides, rain-swollen rivers and a severe
sirocco wind caused the canals to rise to a height of 194 cm or 6 ft 4 in.
See also
*
List of buildings and structures in Venice
This is a list of buildings and structures in Venice, Italy.
A
* Ala Napoleonica
* Arsenal
* Ateneo Veneto
B
* Biblioteca Marciana
C
* Ca' da Mosto
* Ca' d'Oro
* Ca' Farsetti
* Ca' Foscari
* Ca' Loredan
* Ca' Pesaro
* Ca' Rezzonico
* ...
References
Books
* Arslan, Edoardo: Gothic Architecture in Venice (translated by Anne Engel). (Phaidon, London. 1971)
* Boucher, Bruce: Andrea Palladio. The Architect in his Time. (Abbeville Press, 1998)
* Demus, Otto: The Church of San Marco in Venice. History Architecture Sculpture. (Washington 1960)
* Goy, Richard: Venice, The City and its Architecture. (Phaidon. 1997)
* Howard, Deborah: Jacopo Sansovino . Architecture and Patronage in Renaissance Venice (Yale University.Press. 1975)
* Howard, Deborah: The Architectural History of Venice (Revised & enlarged edition. Yale University Press; New Haven & London 2002.)
* Janson, Alban & Thorsten Bürklin. (2002). ''Auftritte Scenes: Interaction with Architectural Space: the Campi of Venice.'' Basel: Birkhauser.
* Lien, Barbara. (May 2005). ''The Role of Pavement in the Perceived Integration of Plazas: An Analysis of the Paving Designs of Four Italian Piazzas.'' unpublished M.S. thesis. Washington State University Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
PDF* Lorenzetti, Giulio: Venice and its Lagoon (1926. 2nd edn 1956) translated by John Guthrie (Lint, Trieste. 1975)
* Macadam, Alta: Venice (6th edition 1998)
* Norwich, John Julius, Tudy Sammartini, and Gabriele Crozzoli (1999). ''Decorative Floors of Venice.'' London: Merrell Publishers.
* Perocco, Guido & Antonio Salvadori: Civiltà di Venezia. 3 volumes. (3rd edition, revised and corrected. Venice. 1987)
* Plant, Margaret: Venice Fragile City 1797-1997 (Yale U.P. 2002)
* Puppi, Lionello. (2002). ''The Stones of Venice''. New York: Vendome Press.
* San Marco, Byzantium and the Myths of Venice edited by Henry Maguire and Robert S.Nelson (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. 2010)
* Sansovino, Francesco: Venetia Città Nobilissima. (Venice. Original edition 1581. Edition of 1663 with additions by Martinioni reprinted in facsimile - Gregg International Publishers Ltd, 1968)
* Scarfi, Bianca Maria (ed.): ''The Lion of Venice. Studies & research on the bronze statue in the Piazzetta' . (Venice. 1990)
* Williams, Kim. (1997). ''Italian Pavements: Patterns in Space.'' Houston: Anchorage Press. .
External links
Satellite image from Google MapsSt. Mark's Square High Definition Virtual Tour360° photos of historic Buildings, Cafés, Jewelleries.
{{Authority control
Piazzas and campos in Venice
Renaissance architecture in Venice
Tourist attractions in Venice
Odonyms referring to religion