Loading...Every book, travel show, magazine article, blog post, every single one will say that Piazza San Marco is the drawing room of Europe. Add me to the list. Apparently, drawing rooms in Europe are pretty crowded with Chinese tourists and pigeons. They should really do something about that.
Today is mostly about the Basilica di San Marco or the Basilica of St. Mark or Chiesa d’Oro or the Church of Gold. To save my poor fingers, I’ll refer to it as the BdSM. I’ve discovered in going through my photos that I took more inside than out. I suppose in my efforts to avoid scaffolding, tourists and pigeons it was too difficult to get a good shot.
The BdSM was built in 1096 but they didn’t finish the decoration until the 19th century. I love the story of how the Venetians, in an attempt to establish credibility in the global marketplace, decided in the 9th century that they needed a patron saint. They decided to go right for the money saint and stole the relics of St. Mark from Alexandria in 828. How did they get him out? Smuggled him in a basket of pork. That’s Eric’s favorite part of the story. The story is told via frescoes over the entryways to the church.
The BdSM is byzantine by design with its onion domes and layout. The inside shines in blinding gold mosaic.
The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.
