A trip to Venice would not be complete without a visit to Saint Mark’s Square!
The Drawing Room of Europe, Saint Mark’s Square is one of the most famous public spaces in the world. It is also the largest open dry space in Venice. Well, it’s dry most of the time. Saint Mark’s does tend to flood during high High Tides, or Acque Alte (check out my previous post).
*Note: Pictures were taken during two trips in 2017 and 2019.
Receding Acqua Alta on Christmas Morning 2019 in Saint Mark’s Square.
Saint Mark’s Square is named for its famed church, St. Mark’s Basilica (San Marco), home of the relics of the city’s patron saint, Saint Mark. The basilica is famous for its unique appearance, inspired from Venice’s Byzantine (Constantinople, now Istanbul) connections. The interior of the church is covered with mosaics. Nearby the church, but not completely next to it, is the Campanile, or bell tower. It is a copy of one that fell down in 1902, true to the original.
The main part of Saint Mark’s square is ringed by buildings, hosting shops and cafes. In normal times you can sit and enjoy a coffee and listen to music (it’s very expensive though). It was not normal times during my latest visit.
Tourists though were still having fun playing in the lagoon water taking pictures in their plastic booties. I guess that is what truly matters when you travel, enjoying the experience. You can really see the shadow from the campanile.
The Procurati Vecchie, the long row of buildings seen in the photo above, were built in the early 16th century to house the high officers of the state during the days of the Venetian Republic. Today, you will find shops and cafes at the bottom and offices above, much like it would have been when the buildings were first occupied.
Adjacent to the Procurati Vecchie is Venice’s famous clock tower, Torre dell’Orologio. The clock tower’s archway leads to the Merceria, the city’s main pathway and shopping district that goes all the way to the Rialto, the city’s main market. The clock and its tower were constructed in the late 15th century. Not only do you get the time through the weird 24-hour clock, but also through the Roman numerals above the balcony. Apparently, it was 9:00ish when I took this photo. On Epiphany and Ascension Day, figures representing three magi chase an angle around that balcony. It’s a big tradition I caught an accident and its original to the clock. (Photo of what that looks like.)
I must say it is a beautiful clock. Most of what you see here is original, including the bell at the top. There are even two bronze figures that ring the bell up there, too.
Next up is the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), my favorite museum in Venice. The palace served not only as the Doge’s residence but also as a place for the Great Council of Venice to meet. It was imperative that there was a proper place for its rulers, council members and judges to meet and the result was the giant palace we see today. There was also a jail inside of the palace and across the canal. The palace was very much a multi-use building.
The Saint Mark’s Square side of the Doge’s Palace.
The courtyard of the palace. The domes of Saint Mark’s Basilica can be seen beyond. The lagoon is behind me, with Saint Mark’s Square to the left. You enter the palace on the lagoon side, but the formal entrance was next to Saint Mark’s Basilica, going up that giant staircase up to the second floor.
Looking up the grand staircase, which was the formal entrance from the square.
One reason I love the Doge’s Palace is that it is all decked out in dark wood and paintings. Very moody.
The Sala del Senato (Room of the Senate), one of the many meeting chambers in the Doge’s Palace.
So many rooms covered in beautiful paintings.
This is my favorite room, the Chamber of the Great Council. Giant fresco on this wall, paintings all over the other walls and all over the ceiling.
Also, this room is simply gigantic. This room is one of the largest rooms in Europe being 53 m (174 ft) long and 25 m (82) wide. The top ring of paintings are the former doges of Venice, very cool seeing them all together in one place.
The room is also famous for Veronese’s famous ceiling painting, The Triumph of Venice, Crowned by Victory. The Venetian Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada actually copied this painting, see it here.
One of the most famous parts of the Doge’s Palace is the Bridge of Sighs. It was built to connect the palace to the New Prisons constructed on the other side of a canal from the Doge’s Palace. Prior to the construction of the New Prisons, prisoners languished in cells that were below sea level in the Doge’s Palace. A new prison was constructed to allow new airy cells. It didn’t work that well, especially because many cells still faced a stuffy courtyard and the serious offenders or those about to have trials still were put in those cells in the Doge’s Palace.
The Bridge of Sighs as seen from the outside.
The outside as see from those crossing the Bridge of Sighs.
The cells in the New Prisons were still pretty dank.
Watch your head when you get in!
The cells wouldn’t have been plain stone but would have been lined with wood. That wood probably would have gotten moldy rather fast in damp Venice.
The stuffy courtyard of the New Prisons.
Cloudy day view of both the square and lagoon side of the Doge’s Palace.
Right in front of Saint Mark’s Square is a series of piers where you can find those famous gondolas tied up.
The area between the campanile and the Doge’s Palace is technically called the Piazzetta San Marco. It is basically included as part of Saint Mark’s Square.
Continuing to the building on the right side of the photo above, the Biblioteca Marciana (Library of Saint Mark), part of the Museo Correr system. It is one of the oldest public libraries in Italy, founded in 1468 after Cardinal Basilios Bessarion donated his collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts. If you want to study Greek and Latin manuscripts today, this is still a place to go. It is also a great place to visit to see a beautiful library. I was unable to see it this last visit, but I was able to visit in 2016, so here’s a quick peek. To visit the Biblioteca Marciana you have to visit the Museo Correr, a fantastic museum that is part of the Doge’s Palace ticket.
The facade of the Biblioteca Marciana on the Piazzetta San Marco, next to the Campanile. That corner of the building was also damaged when the original campanile took a tumble in 1902. And yes, that is Saint Theodore riding a crocodile on top of that pillar. Don’t ask me why.
This is the old reading room. The exhibit they had there was great, so many old books and globes.
Napoleon left his mark on Saint Mark’s Square by rebuilding a portion of the buildings around the square. Opposite Saint Mark’s Basilica, he added his own wing, complete with a palace (there once was a church there). Today, that palace now serves as the Museo Correr, which includes Napoleon’s Venetian palace, Venetian history and an art gallery. It’s a fantastic museum. It also leads to the Archaeological Museum and the Biblioteca Marciana, as well. On Christmas Day, when I went this time, only the main museum was open. Still worth a visit.
The ballroom. The Napoleonic palace was very neoclassical.
A very Empire style dining room.
Throughout the palace you will find some famous Venetian glass chandeliers, made in Murano, located nearby in the lagoon.
Glass flowers like these are very commonly found on Venetian chandeliers.
Bedroom complete with Empire style couch, perfect for lounging Roman style.
Near Museo Correr’s entrance to the Biblioteca Mariana’s entrance, there is a small library of a couple of rooms full of old books.
Located throughout Venice are these “Lion’s Mouths,” message boxes for people to rat on others doing bad deed against the state. It was a form of social control in the Republic of Venice for centuries, because you never knew if the people you were conspiring with would rat on you to the state instead. The box was also to rat on tax invaders, which I against was also a crime against the state. These denunciations were always anonymous.
Venice is a wonderful place to visit…in the off season, which is harder and harder to find these days. This was the busiest I have ever seen Saint Mark’s Square, yet it really wasn’t that crowded considering it was a holiday. You do have a risk for flooding, but winter November-March is the best time to visit Italy and especially Venice. The weather is reasonable, just bring a jacket, otherwise it is going to be hot, crowded and full of cruise ships.
This is my last post from my November/December trip to Malta and Italy! Stay tuned as I share some visits to some parks in the Southwest United States that I made it to pre-Pandemic!
Check out my next update where I return to Death Valley National Park!
or
Start at the beginning of my Malta/Italy adventure!
