St. Mark's Cathedral in Italy, Venice resort
Rating: 8,3/10 (3973 votes)  Basilica of San Marco is a cathedral, which in turn is a rare example of Byzantine architecture in western Europe. The cathedral is located not far from the Doge's Palace, in St. Mark's Square. The cathedral is decorated with numerous Byzantine-style mosaics. The cathedral contains the relics of the Apostle Mark, as well as many of the most valuable pieces of art removed from Constantinople during the Crusades. The temple was built to house the relics of St. Mark, brought from Alexandria in 829. The relics were brought to Venice by the merchants Rustico and Buono, who, having arrived in Alexandria in 828, learned that Christian temples were being destroyed by Muslims for the construction of mosques. The merchants decided to save the saint's relics from desecration and transport them to their city. In order to transfer the power to the ship, the merchants had to resort to a trick – they put the body of the saint in a basket, and on top they covered it with pork carcasses, the Saracens could not touch the pork even during a thorough customs inspection. After the relics reached the city, Saint Theodore was replaced by the Apostle Mark, as the heavenly patron of the city. The construction of the temple was started in 829 by the Doge Giustiniano Partchipazio, and completed in 832 by the brother of the Doge Giovanni Partechipazio. In our time, only a part of the masonry walls remained from the old basilica, which was built into the new temple. In 976, a massive fire broke out in the basilica, which seriously damaged the building. In the X century, the temple was completely restored, however, scholars are inclined to believe that this was only a restoration, and not new construction. In 1063, the construction of a new basilica began. In 1071-1084, the cycle of creating the mosaic decoration of the temple began. The official consecration of the church took place in 1094. The church was built in the image of the temple of the apostles located in Constantinople. Over the next centuries, the church was expanded and decorated several times. In 1204, the cathedral got a lot of ancient relics obtained after the sack of Constantinople. In the history of the Venetian Republic, the basilica played a significant role. Pope Alexander III met with Frederick Barbarossa here. The Church was completely under the jurisdiction of the Doges and had its own clergy, independent of the bishop. We also recommend reading Bridge of the Constitution in Italy, Venice resort Topic: St. Mark's Cathedral in Italy, Venice resort. |
