Piazza San Marco with the Basilica, by Canaletto, 1730, looking just as it does today.

Plan of the Piazza in 1831.

Piazza San Marco.

View of the Piazzetta in the 16th century, after Cesare Vecellio.

Piazza San Marco, often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal square of Venice, Italy. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1214x770, 155 KB)Piazza San Marco with the Basilica, 1730. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1214x770, 155 KB)Piazza San Marco with the Basilica, 1730. ... The Stonemasons Yard, painted 1726-30. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1440x2060, 493 KB) Summary Plan of the Piazza (and the Piazetta) San Marco in Venezia (= Venice, Venedig etc. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1440x2060, 493 KB) Summary Plan of the Piazza (and the Piazetta) San Marco in Venezia (= Venice, Venedig etc. ... Photograph of the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. ... Photograph of the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1276x1710, 111 KB)View of St. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1276x1710, 111 KB)View of St. ... A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venezsia) is the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ...

A remark often attributed to Napoleon (but perhaps more correctly to Alfred de Musset) calls the Piazza San Marco "the drawing room of Europe". It is the only great urban space in a European city where human voices prevail over the sounds of motorized traffic, which is confined to Venice's waterways. It is the only urban space called a piazza in Venice; the others, regardless of size, are called campi. Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from... Tomb of Alfred de Musset in Le Père Lachaise cemetery. ... A piazza is an open square in a city, often used as a marketplace, found in Italy. ...

As the central landmark and gathering place for Venice, Piazza San Marco is extremely popular with tourists, photographers, and pigeons. A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... This is a list of notable photographers in the art, documentary and fashion traditions. ... Binomial name Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), is a member of the bird family Columbidae, doves and pigeons. ...

History

The Piazza originated in the 9th century as a small area in front of the original St Mark's Basilica. It was enlarged to its present size and shape in 1177, when the Rio Batario, which had bounded it to the west, and a dock, which had isolated the Doge's Palace from the square, were filled in. The rearrangement was for the meeting of Pope Alexander III and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. For the Basilica di San Marco in Rome, see Basilica di San Marco (Rome). ... A dock is an area of water between two piers or alongside a pier, forming a chamber used for building or repairing one ship. ... Doges Palace. ... Alexander III, né Orlando Bandinelli (c. ... Frederick in a 13th century Chronicle Frederick I (German: Friedrich I. von Hohenstaufen)(1122 – June 10, 1190), also known as Friedrich Barbarossa (Frederick Redbeard) was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18, 1155. ...

The Piazza has always been seen as the centre of Venice. It was the location of all the important offices of the Venetian state, and has been the seat of the archbishopric since the 19th century. It was also the focus for many of Venice's festivals. It is a greatly popular place in Italy even today. In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ...

Buildings

The Piazza is dominated by the Basilica, the Doge's Palace and the Basilica's campanile, which stands apart from it. The Campanile from the west The Campanile from the south St Marks Campanile is the bell tower of St Marks Basilica in Venice, located in the square (piazza) of the same name. ...

The buildings around the Piazza are, anti-clockwise from the Grand Canal, the Doge's Palace, St Mark's Basilica, St Mark's Clocktower, the Procuratie Vecchie, the Napoleonic Wing of the Procuraties, the Procuratie Nuove, St Mark's Campanile and Logetta and the Biblioteca Marciana. Most of the ground floor of the Procuraties is occupied by cafés, including the Caffè Florian and Gran Caffè Quadri. The Correr Museum and the Museum of Archaeology are located in some of the buildings of the Piazza. The Venetian Mint lies beyond the Biblioteca Marciana on the riva or bank of the Grand Canal. The last of these buildings were completed under Napoleonic occupation, although the campanile has since been rebuilt. nigger. The Grand Canal in Venice, Italy The Grand Canal (italian: Canal Grande) is Venices largest waterway. ... Doges Palace. ... For the Basilica di San Marco in Rome, see Basilica di San Marco (Rome). ... St Marks Clocktower is situated on St Marks Square in Venice, adjoining the Procuratie Vecchie. ... St Marks Square showing the Procuratie Nuove on the left, the Napoleonic Wing ahead and the Procuratie Vecchie to the right. ... St Marks Square showing the Procuratie Nuove on the left, the Napoleonic Wing ahead and the Procuratie Vecchie to the right. ... The Campanile from the west The Campanile from the south St Marks Campanile is the bell tower of St Marks Basilica in Venice, located in the square (piazza) of the same name. ... The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, the Library of St Marks, patron of Venice, is one of the primary manuscript depositories of Italy. ... Coffeehouse in Damascus A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. ... Caffè Florian Emblem of the Caffè Florian Caffè Florian is a coffee house situated in the Procuratie Nuove of Piazza San Marco, Venice. ...

Pavement

The Piazza was paved in the late 13th century with bricks laid in a herringbone pattern. Bands of light-colored stone ran parallel to the long axis of the main piazza. These lines were probably used in setting up market stalls and in organizing frequent ceremonial processions. This original pavement design can be seen in paintings of the late Middle Ages and through the Rennaissance, such as Gentile Bellini's Procession in Piazza San Marco of 1496. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Masonry. ... A marketplace is the space, actual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. ... Portrait of Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus by Gentile Bellini, at the Magyar Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest Gentile Bellini (c. ...

In 1723 the bricks were replaced with a more complex geometrical pavement design composed of a field of dark-colored igneous trachyte with geometrical designs executed in white Istrian stone, similar to travertine. Squares of diagonally-laid blocks alternated with rectangular and oval designs along broad parallel bands. The squares were pitched to the center, 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 center of the western opening into the piazza. This line more closely parallels the façade of the Procuratie Vechhie, 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 quadrilaterals. A sample of trachyte Trachyte is an igneous, volcanic rock with an aphanitic to porphyritic texture. ... Travertine A carving in travertine The rock travertine is a natural chemical precipitate of carbonate minerals; typically aragonite, but often recrystallized to or primary calcite; which is deposited from the water of mineral springs (especially hot springs) or streams saturated with calcium carbonate. ... The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, the Library of St Marks, patron of Venice, is one of the primary manuscript depositories of Italy. ... In mathematics, orthogonal is synonymous with perpendicular when used as a simple adjective that is not part of any longer phrase with a standard definition. ...

St Mark's Basilica.

The design was laid out by Venetian architect Andrea Tirali. Little is known about Tirali's reasoning for the particulars of the design. Some have speculated that the pattern was still used to regulate market stalls, or at least to recall their former presence in the square. Others believe the pattern may have been drawn from oriental rugs, which were a popular luxury item in this trading center. 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 270 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) this was a great time I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 270 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) this was a great time I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document... An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile. ...

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

The Piazza San Marco is the lowest point in Venice, and as a result during the Acqua Alta the "high water" from storm surges from the Adriatic, or even heavy rain, it is the first to flood. Water pouring into the drains in the Piazza runs directly into the Grand Canal. This is ideal during heavy rain, but during the acqua alta it has the reverse effect, with water from the canal surging up into the Square. Acqua Alta is a phenomenon that regularly occurs in the city of Venice, Italy, most commonly during high and spring tides. ...

Piazza San Marco in December.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The Piazzetta

The part of the Piazza between the Doge's Palace and the Biblioteca Marciana, Jacopo Sansovino's Library, is the Piazzetta dei Leoncini. It is open to the lagoon at the mouth of the Grand Canal, and is known for the columns of Venice's two patrons, Marco and Todaro, that stand by the water's edge: on them are the lion of Saint Mark and the statue of Saint Teodoro of Amasea, "Santodaro" to the Venetians, who is standing on the sacred crocodile of Egypt. Theodore of Amasea is less well known than the Evangelist: he burned down a temple of Cybele as an act of Christian piety and was martyred for it. These columns constituted the official gateway to Venice; when there were no official guests in the city, gambling was permitted in the space between the columns. It was also the site of executions in the city. Jacopo d’Antonio Sansovino (1486 - November 27, 1570) was an Italian sculptor and architect. ... The Venetian Lagoon The Venetian Lagoon or the Venetian Riviera is a lagoon off the Adriatic Sea in which the city of Venice is situated. ... Mark the Evangelist (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark, drawing much of his material from Peter. ... Saint Theodore of Amasea (Amasenus, now Amasya, Turkey) is one of the Greek military saints of the 4th century, the earlier patron saint of Venice, now outshone there by Saint Mark, but still represented atop one of the two Byzantine columns standing in the Piazzetta of the Piazza San Marco... Cybele with her attributes. ...

The Piazzetta as it appears in 2006.

St Mark's Campanile.

Since 1480, three ships' masts have faced the waterfront. The banner of St Mark is flown from them on feast days. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (2592 × 1728 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (2592 × 1728 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 390 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1144 × 1756 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 390 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1144 × 1756 pixel, file size: 2. ... The Campanile from the west The Campanile from the south St Marks Campanile is the bell tower of St Marks Basilica in Venice, located in the square (piazza) of the same name. ... mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ...

Across the expanse of water (the Bacino di San Marco) is the Punta della Salute to the left of Baldassarre Longhena's Santa Maria della Salute. The Dogana di mare ("Customs' House") has given its name to every Italian customs shed, much as Venice also had the original Arsenal. Baldassarre Longhena (Venice, 1598 – Venice, 1682), was a 17th century Venetian architect, who worked mainly in Venice itself, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period. ... The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St Mary of Health/Salvation), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a famous church in Venice, placed scenically at a narrow finger of land which lies between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco on the lagoon, visible... View of the Entrance to the Arsenal, by Canaletto, 1732. ...

References

• Janson, Alban & Thorsten Bürklin. (2002). Auftritte Scenes: Interaction with Architectural Space: the Campi of Venice. Basel: Birkhauser. ISBN 3-7643-6585-4
• 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
• Norwich, John Julius, Tudy Sammartini, and Gabriele Crozzoli (1999). Decorative Floors of Venice. London: Merrell Publishers. ISBN 1-85894-108-3
• Puppi, Lionello. (2002). The Stones of Venice. New York: Vendome Press. ISBN 0-86565-245-7
• Williams, Kim. (1997). Italian Pavements: Patterns in Space. Houston: Anchorage Press. ISBN 0-9655268-2-8

External links

• Venice, Italy in Virtual Reality Piazza San Marco.
• Satellite image from Google Maps
• Photo Gallery of Piazza San Marco