Monday, June 15, 2009

St. Mark’s Cathedral is the most famous of all of Venice’s churches. The Cathedral is the final resting place of Saint Mark the Evangelist. Venetian merchants stole the supposed relics of Saint Mark from it’s original resting place in Alexandria, Egypt and built the vast church in his honor in Venice. There are many different versions of how St. Marks remains were captured, but it is said that the Venetian merchants hid the relics in a barrel under layers of pork to get them past the guards. This grand theft is depicted in the 13th century mosaic that is above the door in the front entrance of the cathedral.
St. Mark’s Cathedral had been torn down and rebuilt many times. It was finalized and consecrated in 1094. The basic structure of the building has been altered very little, but it’s ornamentation has changed greatly over time. The centuries that followed all contributed to it’s decoration, a mixture of: Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance and Moorish; giving the cathedral a style all of it’s own. Because of the changes in style and to the ornamentation and design of the church, and exact architect of St. Mark’s Cathedral is unknown.
The interior of St. Mark’s is designed on a Greek cross floorplan and modeled after Hagia Sophia. Covering the floors, walls, and ceilings of the cathedral are vast mosaics, an area of around 8,000 square meters. These mosaics are mostly from the 12th and 13th century. The 12th century mosaics recount events of the New Testament, while the 13th century mosaics depict stories from the Old Testament. The main altar of the cathedral is what holds the evangelist St. Mark’s remains. Above this Altar is the masterpiece, the Golden Altar Screen. It measures 11 x 4 ½ feet and has eighty enamel plaques surrounded by diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and topazes. The Golden Alter is said to be the grandest mosaic in the cathedral.