San Marco di Venezia, as seen from the Piazza San Marco

St Mark's Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco in Venezia) is the most famous of the churches of Venice and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies on St Mark's Square, adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace and has been the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice since 1807. A church building is a building used in Christian worship. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... The 11th-century monastery of Hosios Lukas in Greece is representative of the Byzantine art during the rule of Macedonian dynasty. ... St Marks Square, often known in English by its Italian name Piazza San Marco, is the town square of Venice, Italy. ... Doges Palace The Doges Palace (Ital. ... Among the Patriarchates in the West, the Pope, as Bishop of Rome is the only truly independent Patriarch. ... The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. ... 1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Early history

The first St Mark's was a temporary building in the Doge’s Palace, constructed in 828, when Venetian merchants acquired the supposed relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria. This was replaced by a new church on its present site in 832. The new church was burned in a rebellion in 976, rebuilt in 978 and again to form the basis of the present basilica in 1063. Events Egbert became first King of England Alcamo was founded by the Muslim commander al-Kamuk. ... Mark the Evangelist (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark, drawing much of his material from Peter. ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية — al-Iskandariyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ... Events Theophilus forbids the usage of icons, establishing strict punishments. ... Events January 10 - Basil II becomes Eastern Roman Emperor, see Byzantine Emperors. ... Events Badìa Fiorentina, an abbey in Italy, is founded by Willa, Margravine of Tuscany. ... The Basilica of St. ... Events Anselm of Canterbury becomes prior at Le Bec Sancho I becomes ruler of Aragon Bishopric of Olomouc is founded Births Deaths Constantine III Lichoudas Patriarch of Constantinople Adelaide Havoise daughter of Robert II of France Tughril Beg first leader of the Seljuk Turks Song dynasty Emperor Renzong (仁宗) Hungarian...

The present building

The church is based on a Greek cross floorplan, based on part on the Hagia Sophia and the Basilica of the Apostles, both in Constantinople. It has a raised choir with a crypt beneath. The plan of the interior consists of three longitudinal and three transverse naves. Over the high altar is a baldacchino on columns decorated with eleventh-century reliefs; the altarpiece is the famous Pala d'Oro (Golden Pall) [1] (http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/gallery/pala_doro/pala/galleryWAI.bsm?lang=eng), Byzantine metal-work of the year 1105, originally designed for an antependium. Behind the high altar is another altar with alabaster columns. The choir stalls are embellished with inlaying by Fra Sebastiano Schiavone, and above them on both sides are three reliefs by Sansovino. On the two marble pulpits of the ambo are statuettes by the Massegne brothers (1394). Also in the choir are Sansovino's bronze statues of the Evangelists and Caliari's of the Four Doctors. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, Turkey, June 1994 The Church of the Holy Wisdom, variously known as Hagia Sophia (Άγια Σοφία) in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin or Ayasofya in Turkish, is a former Greek Orthodox church converted to a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, formerly Constantinople. ... The Basilica of the Apostles (Polyandreion) in Constantinople was the magnificent and wondrous cruciform church built by Constantine the Great, which was described by Eusebius of Caesarea, who mentioned porticoes along the four sides and walls faced with marble up to the gilded roof. ... Map of Constantinople. ... A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ... In medieval terms, a crypt (from the Latin crypta and the Greek kryptē) is a stone chamber or vault, usually beneath the floor of a church, usually containing tombs of important people such as saints or saints relics. ... Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram. ... Picture of an altar from the Meyer Encyclopaedia An altar, (Hebrew mizbeah, from a word meaning to slay) is any structure on which sacrifices known as the korbanot as well as incense offerings are offered for religious purposes. ... An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. ... Events Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor deposed by his son, Henry V Tamna kingdom annexed by Korean Goryeo Dynasty. ... Alabaster (sometimes called satin spar) is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals: gypsum (a hydrous sulfate of calcium) and the calcite (a carbonate of calcium). ... A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ... Jacopo d’Antonio Sansovino (1486 - November 27, 1570) was an Italian sculptor and architect. ... A late 18th century pulpit in a small Roman Catholic church in Spielfeld, Styria, Austria A pulpit (from Latin pulpitum scaffold, platform, stage) is a small elevated platform where a member of the clergy stands in order to read the Gospel lesson and deliver a sermon. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

The basilica was consecrated in 1094, the same year as in which the body of Saint Mark was supposedly rediscovered in a pillar by Vitale Falier, doge at the time. The crypt then housed the relics until 1811. The building also incorporates a low tower, believed by some to have been part of the original Doge's Palace. Events May - the siege of Valencia ends Duncan III of Scotland succeeds Duncan II of Scotland as King of Scotland The first mention of the city of Zagreb, Croatia, as it became a bishopric see. ... Mark the Evangelist (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark, drawing much of his material from Peter. ... Pillar is a Christian rock band. ... The chief office in the historical city states of Venice and Genoa was the Doge (from the Latin dux--leader). ... Relics can be: Relics: the remains of saints (usually bones), honored in the Catholic and Orthodox churches. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A tower is a high structure, usually man-made. ... Doges Palace The Doges Palace (Ital. ...

Decoration

While the basic structure of the building has been little altered, its decoration changed greatly over time. The succeeding centuries, especially the fourteenth, all contributed to its adornment, and seldom did a Venetian vessel return from the Orient without bringing a column, capitals, or friezes, taken from some ancient building, to add to the fabric of the basilica. Gradually, the exterior brickwork was been covered with various marbles and carvings, some much older than the building itself. A new frontage was constructed and the domes were covered with higher wooden domes in order to blend in with the Gothic architecture of the redesigned Doge's Palace. (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... For other meanings of the term, see column (disambiguation). ... In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... Frieze of the Tower of the Winds. ... Brickwork is produced when a bricklayer uses bricks and mortar to build up structures such as walls, bridges and chimneys. ... Marble This page is about the metamorphic rock. ... Petroglyphs on a Bishop Tuff tableland Petroglyph on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument Petroglyphs from Scandinavia (Häljesta, Västmanland in Sweden). ... St Peters Basilica, Rome A dome is a common structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a organic material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. ... Gothic architecture characterizes any of the styles of European architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, in use throughout Europe during the high and late medieval period, from the 12th century onwards. ...

Inside, the walls were covered with mosaics, in a mixture of Byzantine and Gothic styles, while the floor is a twelfth century mixture of mosaic and marble in geometric patterns and animal designs. The mosaic contains gold, bronze, and the greatest variety of stones. Mosaic is a medium of art that may embody the most meaningful iconography in a cultures most important settings, as in the cathedral of Monreale (below), or it may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration. ... The most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sofia) in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) - the image of Christ on the walls of the upper southern gallery. ... Gothic style painting by Duccio Gothic art refers to the art of the Gothic cultural movement in northern Europe. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ...

The Horses of Saint Mark were installed on the basilica in about 1254. They date to Classical Antiquity; by some accounts they once adorned the Arch of Trajan. The horses were long displayed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, and in 1204 Doge Enrico Dandolo sent them back to Venice as part of the loot sacked from Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade. They were taken by Napoleon in 1797 but restored in 1815 and remained in place until the 1990s and now sit in an exhibition room, the horses now on the facade of the cathedral being no more than fibreglass replicas. Events December 2 - Manfred of Sicily defeats army of Pope Innocent IV at Foggia. ... Classical antiquity is a broad and perhaps misleading term for a long period of European, Middle East and North African history, that begins roughly with the earliest recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire... Emperor Trajan Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (September 18, 53 - August 9, 117), Roman Emperor (98 - 117), commonly called Trajan, was the second of the so-called five good emperors of the Roman Empire. ... The Hippodrome today The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a horse-racing track that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire and the largest city in Europe. ... Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... Enrico Dandolo (d. ... Map of Constantinople. ... The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem by taking Egypt first, instead, in 1204, conquered the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ...

External link

• Cathedral of San Marco, Venice (http://www.basilicasanmarco.it)