St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice (photo)

Beautiful Venice inspired many artists, poets, musicians to create world-famous works. This is not surprising. A city in which magnificent nature is harmoniously connected with exquisite architecture and a long history, nobody can remain indifferent. Here, every building is a landmark, but in this article we will present you with a magnificent structure - St. Mark's Cathedral.

Chapel

In Venice, everywhere you can find a lot of monuments dedicated to the evangelist Mark, who has long been considered the heavenly patron of the city. The first chapel, dedicated to the apostle, appeared in the city in 829. Its main shrine was the relics of St. Mark, which Venetian seafarers stole from Alexandria.

When the Venetians saw that the Muslims barbarously destroyed the churches of Christians and built mosques in their place, they decided to protect the evangelist's relics from desecration. As the ancient legend says, in order to transport an invaluable relic on the ship, the merchants went to the trick - they laid pork carcasses of the relics of the saint, and the customs were told that they were transporting pork. Saracens, preaching Islam, did not dare to touch the unclean animal and did not check the load. The basilica of St. Mark was burned in 976 during the popular uprising. At the same time, the Venetian ruler Pietro IV Candiano was deposed from the throne.

History of the temple

The cathedral of St. Mark, whose history began in 1063, amazes not only ordinary tourists. They are admired and still continue to study experts in the field of architecture. Looking at his image, many are wondering which city the St. Mark's Cathedral stands in. Of course, in ancient Venice (Italy).

In 1071, when the cathedral was not yet completed, the new ruler of the city, Domenico Selvo, was installed in it. It was with him (1071-1084) that the first cycle of mosaic decoration of the cathedral began. The temple was consecrated in 1094 under Vitale Falier. This ruler (doge) was buried in one of the galleries, where today is the narthex of the temple.

St. Mark's Cathedral, the photo of which you can see in this article, was built quite quickly - for thirty years. But in the next five hundred years it was constantly expanded and decorated.

The Venetians had fears that the Alexandrians would learn about the abduction of the relic, so they decided to declare a "miracle" of the appearance of the remains. An ancient legend says that the inhabitants of the city were ordered to pray and fast, so that the Lord helped find the power of Mark. And one day God "heard" the prayers of citizens - during one of the services on the column, a marble slab fell off , and in the opening the parishioners saw the hand of the saint. Doubts did not remain - to find relics helped "a miracle."

The Palace Chapel

For a long time St. Mark's Cathedral (Venice) was a palace chapel. In this temple the rulers (doji) were crowned, here they found the last shelter. In the temple, the army was blessed to win the Crusades. The captains who were going to a distant voyage received the blessing here.

In these ancient walls, the emperor of Rome - Frederick I of Barbarossa - concluded a long-awaited peace with Alexander III. Without a solemn mass in this basilica, there was not a single city celebration. On the square in front of the temple, the Venetian famous carnivals rustled and continue to rustle today, as well as other solemn events.

St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice: architecture

It is unlikely that anyone will dispute the claim that this temple is one of the most interesting and bright sights of the city. A huge majestic building attracts tourists from all over the world. What is so attractive Cathedral of St. Mark? To be under his vaults, according to the parishioners, is a great happiness. The monumentality of the building strengthens faith and cleanses the soul.

But we can not say about the architectural features of the unique structure. St. Mark's Cathedral, a description of which can be found in all the guidebooks in Venice, has five entrances. Each of them has sculpture and columns in two tiers. Magnificent mosaic compositions above the entrances are shown by events that are associated with the abduction of the relics of the saint and their appearance in Venice.

The five-domed cross-domed cathedral of St. Mark was modeled after the temple of the Apostles in Constantinople. As we have already mentioned, for five centuries the temple was expanded and decorated. Work on the facing of the cathedral's facade with marble began in 1159. In the XII century there were mosaics on the central domes and arches. Baptistery and chapel of St. Isidore was added in 1354. The Muscovite Chapel appeared in the 15th century, like the sacristy. In the following, XVI century, the Chapel of Zen appeared. The decoration of the temple was completely completed at the end of the XV century. This is confirmed by the image of him in the painting by J. Bellini.

Experts note the apparent heterogeneity of the architectural styles of the square in front of the temple. St. Mark's Cathedral is its architectural dominant. The author of the magnificent construction project was an unknown Greek architect who built the Byzantine cross as the basis for the construction, and it is crowned with four domes, the fifth is the base.

Above the main entrances to the cathedral you can see arches with amazing mosaics. Above the main entrance, this panel depicts scenes from the Last Judgment. On the roof there is a copy of four horses of bronze. Such a sculpture was brought from Constantinople (1204) as a military trophy.

Relics of the Cathedral

Most of the ancient relics of the temple came here after the fall of Constantinople. The quadriga, located on the western facade, belongs primarily to them. This is a copy, and its original is kept in the museum of the temple. In addition, it is a unique "golden altar" made by fine Byzantine masters, the icon "Madonna of Nikopeya".

Interior decoration

St. Mark's Cathedral (Venice) impresses everyone who falls under its arches, an abundance of colored marble, mosaics on biblical subjects. They occupy a huge area - more than four thousand square meters. Amazing fragments of colorful glass are laid out on the thinnest sheets of gold. Cancer with relics of St. The brand is kept under the sparkling gems and the golden altar of the main altar. Above it is installed the "golden altar" - a special iconostasis, which was executed by Byzantine masters in 1343 by the order of the Venetians.

The gothic frame, made of gilt silver, consists of 250 miniatures on enamel, inlaid with 2000 semi-precious and precious stones. On the altar you can see scenes from the New Testament and the life of the apostle Mark. Due to the huge amount of gold, the cathedral is sometimes called the "golden basilica".

Today St. Mark's Cathedral is a functioning temple. Daily services are held in the Chapel of St. Isidore. There are always a lot of people at the services, not only the parishioners, but also the guests of the city. Every day you can visit St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. Opening hours of the temple are very convenient for visits - from 9:45 to 16:00. In addition to relics, the relics of the church include: the icon of the Virgin Nikopaia and the relics of the martyr Isidor. That's why Christian pilgrims from all over the world come here all the time.

Campanile of St. Mark's Cathedral (Venice)

This is the name of the bell tower of the temple. This is an integral part of the cathedral. It is located on the main square of the city. From here you can see the whole of Venice, since the height of the building is 99 meters, it is the highest in Venice.

Historical reference

In the VIII century there was an hour tower. It burned down in a fire that occurred after a lightning strike. In 1514, a bell tower appeared in the city, which can be seen today. Initiated the construction of Admiral Grimani. He needed to win the confidence of citizens and local officials, since before that he had not fulfilled the task assigned to him, in connection with which he could be convicted. Today we can say with certainty that the Campanile of St. Mark's Cathedral is built on Grimani funds.

This structure was a beacon for seafarers and a watchtower. From here, the surrounding countryside was perfectly visible. At the same time, it was also the place of punishment of church servants who were seen in same-sex relationships. They were put in special cages and hung from the tower.

Description

The Campanile of St. Mark's Cathedral had five bells, and each of them carried out its task. The largest of them sounded only in the morning, informing the residents that the day has already begun.

In 1902, campaigning cracked on one wall and collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt. In 10 years (1912) the tower was restored.

The façade of the loggia consists of three arches decorated with side columns. Between them in the niches are the bronze statues of Mercury, Minerva, Apollo. During the reconstruction of 1912, the side facades, which were originally made of bricks, were faced with marble.