San Marco Square

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First of all, the famous pigeons, floods for floods and, that is there, the Palace of the Doge, San Marco - Soul and the heart of Venice. San Marko ranked in a row, its worthy place in a row, thanks to a considerable number of historical buildings around the perimeter - here you will not find the "average" structure. And the area has repeatedly became the venue of the scenes of movies, covered the mass of legends and simply became a cult destination for all visiting Venice.

How to get

San Marco Square is the most center of Venice, where any walking in the water in water is invariably. Architectural Dominanta - Bell Tower, again in honor of St. Mark, - it can be seen almost everywhere (unless you floated any very remote channel).

What to see

The abundance of "Must-See" on San Marco Square could be easily envied by the European city of Middle Hand. Here and the columns of St. Mark and the Holy Theodore, and the magnificent Palace of Guards, and the Cathedral of St. Mark with the eponymous clock tower, as well as the old and new prosecution, Wing of Napoleon and, finally, an outstanding library, as you could have guess, also the name of the apostle.

Area

Acquaintance with San Marko begins with the "pre-banker", affectionately called local "Piazzette" - "playground". Looking around at the San Marco stop (meaning, of course, a latter canal arrive), you get on the piazzalet - a small rectangular space, at the end of which the bell tower of St. Mark rises, labeling the beginning of a big Piazza.

We must definitely pay attention to the bridge San Marco: the area is paved with a light stone in something resembling a drawing "Christmas tree". The drawing was laid out in the 13th century to label the direction of movement of ceremonial processes.

Columns

The columns of St. Mark and St. Theodore - the first monument that meets the visitors of San Marco, or rather, her Piazzettes. The column of St. Mark is crowned with a bronze sculpture of the winged lion of a very honorable age - it was cast in 5 V to N E in the Assyrian Tars. I must say, there was little from the initial lion to this day - the turbulent history of the sculpture remained only separate parts, the last restoration was carried out in 1991. The lion appeared on the shores of Venice thanks to the warriors of crusades in 11-12 centuries.

The column of St. Theodore is crowned with the statue of this saint, patron of Venice. Pay attention to the "tamed" crocodile at the feet of Holy Theodore - it symbolizes the power of the city on the seas.

Palace of the Doge

The amazing palace of the guy was built in the 14th and 15th centuries in the Gothic style and served as a residence of the Guards of the Venetian Republic, as well as the place of meetings of the Big Council, the Court and Senate. The front balcony on the facade served as a tribune for a dog, which thus welcomed the people and guests sailing along the large channel.

Cathedral of St. Mark.

The main Cathedral of Venice and one of the most visited attractions, the Cathedral of St. Mark was founded in the 9th century, and the current appearance received by the end of the 15th century. Inside there are the relics of the Apostle Mark, the heads of the Apostles Jacob and Tita, the icon of Our Lady "Nicopea" and the relics of the Martyr Isidore. Aesthetic features in it are even more - magnificent glorious mosaics, flying dome, Saint Mark, tetrarch quadriga, tetrarch, etc. Well, the real pearls of interior decoration are dome mosaics on biblical topics.

Holiday Tower of St. Mark

"Orolojo" ("clock") is so called the hourly tower of St. Mark, which is in charge of many interesting "chips." Let's start on top: Pay attention to the bronze statues of the old man and young men driving in the bell: the first one 5 minutes before the end of the hour, the second - 5 minutes after it began, symbolizing the thus time and the future. Low below, you can see a lion with a revealed book - a symbol of Venice, even lower - the Virgin Mary with a baby Christ, finally - a luxurious blue-gold watch for 24 divisions, richly decorated with enamel and gilding. Alternatively, you can find out the current zodiac sign and the moon phase.

San Marco Library

The largest and most important library of Italy, San Marco has more than 13 thousand most valuable manuscripts, and the books are not at all. Among the masterpieces of the collection are two lists of "Iliad" 5 and 6 centuries, as well as the first book printed in Venice. Since the beginning of the 17th century, the library received a mandatory instance of each book printed in Venice. Two snow-white buildings with renaissance grace are facing a facade on a large canal, decorated with sculptures and stucco.

Address: VENEZIA, PIAZZA SAN MARCO.