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St. Mark's Square And St. Mark's Basilica

100 Meter High Landmark Clock Tower

St. Mark's Square in Venice is a world-famous city square with a 98 meters high clock tower. St. Mark's Basilica, on the east side of the square, was built in the 9th century to house the remains of Saint Mark. The Doge's Palace, next to the Basilica, was once the residence of the Doge of Venice.

St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) in Venice is a World Famous City Square and has been in existence since the 9th century. The square is almost rectangular in shape, with a 98 meters high campanile (bell tower), the tallest building in Venice. Every year, major festivities are held here in St. Mark’s Square.

St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco) on the east side of the square, was built to house the remains of the Catholic saint – St. Mark, and has been constantly remodeled over the centuries, combining Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance styles, making it a perfect fusion of Eastern and Western architectures. St. Mark’s Basilica is a Greek cross with five domes and decorated with Beautiful Mosaics inside and outside. Until 1807, the church belonged to the Doge of Venice and contained treasures collected from the Venetian colonies, even the decorative columns on the church walls are from different places of the world.

The other sides of St. Mark’s Square are surrounded by Three Connected Buildings (Procuratie) from Different Eras, the Old Procuracies (Procuratie Vecchie), the New Procuracies (Procuratie Nuove) and the Napoleonic Wing (Ala Napoleonica). Despite their centuries-long difference in history, they appear at first glance to be in perfect harmony. The Old and New Procuracies were once the offices of the administrative staff under the Doge, while the Napoleonic Wing, located on the west side of the square, was built during Napoleon’s occupation of Venice in the 19th century.

Manywhere Trivia:
In order to drain the water, the piazza’s sewers run directly into the Venetian canals, causing it to turn into an ocean when the sea level rises. It happens several times a year and locals are used to it.

To the south of the bell tower of St. Mark’s Square, there is another smaller square known as Little Square of St. Mark (Piazzetta San Marco). Two large columns stand right near the canal, topped with Lion of Venice and St. Theodore, they are considered as the City Gate of Venice.

On the east and west sides of the Little Square of St. Mark locate the Doge’s Palace of Venice (Palazzo Ducale) and the Library of St. Mark (Biblioteca Marciana). The Doge's Palace was once the official residence of the Doge of Venice. It was rebuilt after a fire in the 16th century in Gothic Style. The interior of the Doge’s Palace has the Chamber of the Great Council, the Four Doors Room, the Senate Chamber, and other rooms, leaving many precious frescoes. The most shocking one is the 22-meter-wide, 7-meter-high Tintoretto’s huge painting “Paradise (Il Paradiso)”.

Doge's Palace

Center of Power of Venice

The Doge's Palace, the official residence of the Doge of Venice, is located south of St. Mark's Basilica and next to St. Mark's Little Square. Inside the Gothic-style building, there are rooms as the Chamber of the Great Council, the Four Doors Room and precious frescoes.