St. Mark's Basilica

Architect: N/A (commissioned by the Doge of Venice, Domenico I Contarini)
Material: Stone, Marble
Relative/Absolute Date: 829 - 836
Culture: Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic
Scale: 76m x 62m x 43m
Current Location: Venice, Italy

St. Mark’s Basilica, or Basilica di San Marco, is a church located in Venice, the heart of Italy. Built under the instruction of Doge Giustiniano Participazio around 829, the Basilica housed relics related to the aforementioned Mark the Evangelist. The relics themselves were actually a product of theft, in which Venetian merchants disguised the relics with pork and cabbage to smuggle it past Muslim guards (“Saint Mark’s Basilica” 2020, 77).

Certain features of the Basilica are Byzantine in nature, with vaults covered in golden mosaics (Ching, et al. 2010, 352). The earliest mosaics in the Basilica are dated as far back as 1070, potentially done by Byzantine-trained artists who moved to and have been operating in Venice around the time of the Basilica of St. Mark’s construction(Demus 1988, 17). This was determined through an analysis of the mosaics in question, where they were compared to Greek mosaics and found that the manner of execution was lacking. Also, this Basilica also incorporates the use of pendentives underneath the dome, each of which are adorned with the Four Evangelists.

This church stands as a monument to the unique Italo-Byzantine style that permeated the region as a result of Venice’s position as an important trade partner and a historic Byzantine territory.