“Basilica di San Marco”

On my last holidays I went to Venice, Italy, and the most beautiful building that I’ve seen was the “Basilica di San Marco”. It’s in the “Piazza di San Marco”, the heart of Venice. This building is one of the most visited in Europe.
The basilica is an exotic and byzantine- Venetian church and the biggest medieval building in the world. It’s a mixture of Western and Eastern cultures and that is the essence of Venice life.
At first, it was built to receive the body of “San Marco”, the patron saint of Venice, the basilica saw its appearance evolve between the 9th and 19th centuries. Many of the basilica’s decorative elements were pillaged or offered to Venice during its age of supremacy, the most important there are the golden horses above the main doors. The original horses are inside of the basilica because of the pollution, outside there are copies.
The romantic and golden ornaments in the central doors are considered the biggest treasure outside. Inside, it’s the byzantine main altar in gold, “Pala d’ouro”, with more than 2600 pearls, rubies, emeralds and others precious stones. It was started in the 10th century, but it was finished only in 1342.
We can go to the roof by walking up many and many steps, there is a balcony where we have a fantastic view of san Marco bay and the wonderful “piazza” full of people from all over the world. It ‘s free to go in, but we need to be patient because the queues are usually long.
It’s a fantastic monument to discover!
Carla Sarmento – BRG