St Mark's Basilica

The entry to St Mark's, believed to date to the Participazio church

Several medieval chronicles narrate the translatio, the removal of Saint Mark's body from Alexandria in Egypt by two Venetian merchants and its transfer to Venice in 828/829.^[2] The Chronicon Venetum further recounts that the relics of Saint Mark were initially placed in a corner tower of the castrum, the fortified residence of the Doge and seat of government located on the site of the present Doge's Palace.^[3] Doge Giustiniano Participazio (in office 827–829) subsequently stipulated in his will that his widow and his younger brother and successor Giovanni (in office 829–832) were to erect a church dedicated to Saint Mark wherein the relics would ultimately be housed. Giustiniano further specified that the new church was to be built between the castrum and the Church of Saint Theodore to the north. Construction of the new church may have actually been underway during Doge Giustiniano's lifetime and was completed by 836 when the relics of Saint Mark were transferred.^[4]

Although the Participazio church was long believed to have been a rectangular structure with a single apse, soundings and excavations have demonstrated that St Mark's was from the beginning a cruciform church with at least a central dome, likely in wood.^[5][6] It has not been unequivocally established if each of the four crossarms of the church had a similar dome or were instead covered with gabled wooden roofs.^[7]

The prototype was the Church of the Holy Apostles (demolished 1461) in Constantinople.^[8] This radical break with the local architectural tradition of a rectangular plan in favour of a centrally planned Byzantine model reflected the growing commercial presence of Venetian merchants in the imperial capital as well as Venice's political ties with Byzantium. More importantly, it underscored that St Mark's was intended not as an ecclesiastical seat but as a state sanctuary.^[9]

Remnants of the Participazio church likely survive and are generally believed to include the foundations and lower parts of several of the principal walls, including the western wall between the nave and the narthex. The great entry portal may also date to the early church as well as the western portion of the crypt, under the central dome, which seems to have served as the base for a raised dais upon which the original altar was located.^{[6][10][note 1]}

The Participazio church was severely damaged in 976 during the popular uprising against Doge Pietro IV Candiano (in office 959–976) when the fire that angry crowds had set to drive the Doge from the castrum spread to the adjoining church. Although the structure was not completely destroyed, it was compromised to the point that the Concio, the general assembly, had to alternatively convene in the cathedral of San Pietro di Castello to elect Candiano's successor, Pietro I Orseolo (in office 976–978).^[11] Within two years, the church was repaired and at the sole expense of the Orseolo family, indications that the actual damage was relatively limited. Most likely, the wooden components had been consumed, but the walls and supports remained largely intact.^[12]

Nothing certain is known of the appearance of the Orseolo church. But given the short duration of the reconstruction, it is probable that work was limited to repairing damage with little innovation.^[8][13] It was at this time, however, that the tomb of Saint Mark, located in the main apse, was surmounted with brick vaults, creating the semi-enclosed shrine that would later be incorporated into the crypt when the floor of the chancel was raised during the construction of the third church.^[14]

Civic pride led many Italian cities in the mid-eleventh century to begin erecting or rebuilding their cathedrals on a grand scale.^[15] Venice was similarly interested in demonstrating its growing commercial wealth and power, and probably in 1063, under Doge Domenico I Contarini (in office 1043–1071), St Mark's was substantially rebuilt and enlarged to the extent that the resulting structure appeared entirely new.^[16]

Antonio Pellanda, reconstruction of the western façade of the Contarini church (1881)

The northern transept was lengthened, likely by incorporating the southern lateral nave of the Church of Saint Theodore.^[17] Similarly, the southern transept was extended, perhaps by integrating a corner tower of the castrum. Most significantly, the wooden domes were rebuilt in brick. This required strengthening the walls and piers in order to support the new heavy barrel vaults, which in turn were reinforced by arcades along the sides of the northern, southern, and western crossarms. The vaults of the eastern crossarm were supported by inserting single arches that also served to divide the chancel from the choir chapels in the lateral apses.^[18][19]

In front of the western façade, a narthex was built. To accommodate the height of the existing great entry, the vaulting system of the new narthex had to be interrupted in correspondence to the portal, thus creating the shaft above that was later opened to the interior of the church. The crypt was also enlarged to the east, and the high altar was moved from under the central dome to the chancel, which was raised, supported by a network of columns and vaults in the underlying crypt.^[20] By 1071, work had progressed far enough that the investiture of Doge Domenico Selvo (in office 1071–1084) could take place in the unfinished church.^[16]

Work on the interior began under Selvo, who collected fine marbles and stones for the embellishment of the church and personally financed the mosaic decoration, hiring a master mosaicist from Constantinople.^[21][22] The Pala d'Oro (golden altarpiece), ordered from Constantinople in 1102, was installed on the high altar in 1105.^[23][24] For the consecration under Doge Vitale Falier Dodoni (in office 1084–1095), various dates are recorded, most likely reflecting a series of consecrations of different sections.^[25] The consecration on 8 October 1094 is considered to be the dedication of the church.^[26] On that day, the relics of Saint Mark were also placed into the new crypt.^[27]

The juncture of the southern and western crossarms, showing the original brickwork and the subsequent embellishment

As built, the Contarini church was a severe brick structure. Adornment inside was limited to the columns of the arcades, the balusters and parapets of the galleries, and the lattice altar screens. The wall surfaces were decorated with moulded arches that alternated with engaged brickwork columns as well as niches and a few cornices.^[28] With the exception of the outside of the apse and the western façade that faced Saint Mark's Square, the stark brick exterior was enlivened only by receding concentric arches in contrasting brick around the windows.^[29]

The western façade, comparable to middle-Byzantine churches erected in the tenth and eleventh centuries, was characterized by a series of arches set between protruding pillars.^[30] The walls were pierced by windows set in larger blind arches, while the intervening pillars were adorned with niches and circular patere made of rare marbles and stones that were surrounded with ornamental frames.^[31] Other decorative details, including friezes and corbel tables, reflected Romanesque trends, an indication of the taste and craftsmanship of the Italian workers.^[32]

With few exceptions, most notably the juncture of the southern and western crossarms, both the exterior and interior of the church were subsequently sheathed with revetments of marble and precious stones and enriched with columns, reliefs, and sculptures.^[33] Many of these ornamental elements were spolia taken from ancient or Byzantine buildings.^[34] Particularly in the period of the Latin Empire (1204–1261), following the Fourth Crusade, the Venetians pillaged the churches, palaces, and public monuments of Constantinople and stripped them of polychrome columns and stones. Once in Venice, some of the columns were sliced for revetmets and patere; others were paired and spread across the façades or used as altars.^[35] Despoliation continued in later centuries, notably during the Venetian–Genoese Wars.^[36][37] Venetian sculptors also integrated the spoils with local productions, copying the Byzantine capitals and friezes so effectively that some of their work can only be distinguished with difficulty from the originals.^[38]

The lateral aisle of the western crossarm, showing the arcade that strengthens the vault and the walkways above which were created with the removal of the galleries

In addition to the sixteen windows in each of the five domes, the church was originally lit by three or seven windows in the apse and probably eight in each of the lunettes.^[39] But many of these windows were later walled up to create more surface space for the mosaic decoration, with the result that the interior received insufficient sunlight, particularly the areas under the galleries which remained in relative darkness. The galleries were consequently reduced to narrow walkways with the exception of the ends of the northern, southern, and western crossarms where they remain. These walkways maintain the original relief panels of the galleries on the side facing the central section of the church. On the opposite side, new balustrades were erected.^[40]

The narthex of the Contarini church was originally limited to the western side. As with other Byzantine churches, it extended laterally beyond the façade on both sides and terminated in niches, of which the northern remains. The southern terminus was separated by a wall in the early twelfth century, thus creating an entry hall that opened on the southern façade toward the Doge's Palace and the waterfront.^[41] In the early thirteenth century, the narthex was extended along the northern and southern sides to completely surround the western crossarm.^[42]

Also, in the first half of the thirteenth century, the original low-lying brick domes, typical of Byzantine churches, were surmounted with higher, outer shells supporting bulbous lanterns with crosses.^[43] These wooden frames covered in lead provided more protection from weathering to the actual domes below and gave greater visual prominence to the church.^[44][45][46] Various Near-Eastern models have been suggested as sources of inspiration and construction techniques for the heightened domes, including the Al-Aqsa and Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra mosques in Jerusalem and the conical frame erected over the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the early thirteenth century.^[47]

The three exposed façades result from a long and complex evolution. Particularly in the thirteenth century, the exterior appearance of the church was radically altered: the patterned marble encrustation was added, and a multitude of columns and sculptural elements was applied to enrich the state church. It is probable that structural elements were also added to the façades or modified.^[48]

Western façade

The exterior of the basilica is divided into two registers. On the western façade, the lower register is dominated by five deeply recessed portals that alternate with large piers.^[30] The lower register was later completely covered with two tiers of precious columns, largely spoils from the Fourth Crusade.^[33]

Consistent with Byzantine traditions, the sculptural elements are largely decorative: only in the arches that frame the doorways is there a functional use of sculpture that articulates the architectural lines.^[49] In addition to the reliefs in the spandrels, the sculpture at the lower level, relatively limited, includes narrow Romanesque bands, statues, and richly carved borders of foliage mixed with figures derived from Byzantine and Islamic traditions. The eastern influence is most pronounced in the tympana over the northern-most and southern-most portals.^[50]

The iconographic programme is expressed primarily in the mosaics in the lunettes. In the lower register, those of the lateral portals narrate the translatio, the translation of Saint Mark's relics from Alexandria to Venice. From right to left, they show the removal of the saint's body from Egypt, its arrival in Venice, its veneration by the Doge, and its deposition in the church.^[51] This last mosaic is the only one on the façade that survives from the thirteenth century; the others were remade in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.^[52][53] The general appearance of the lost compositions is recorded in Gentile Bellini's Procession in Piazza San Marco (1496), which also documents the earlier gilding on the façade.^[51]

The upper register is enriched with an elaborate Gothic crowning, executed in the late-fourteenth/early-fifteenth centuries. The original lunettes, transformed into ogee arches, are outlined with foliage and topped with statues of four military saints over the lateral lunettes and of Saint Mark flanked by angels over the central lunette, the point of which contains the winged lion of Saint Mark holding a book with the angelic salutation of the praedestinatio: "Peace to you Mark, my Evangelist" ("Pax tibi Marce evangelista meus").^{[note 2]} The intervening aediculae with pinnacles house figures of the Four Evangelists and on the extremities, facing one another, the Virgin and the Archangel Gabriel in allusion to Venice's legendary foundation on the 25 March 421, the feast of the Annunciation.^[55]

Culminating in the Last Judgment over the main portal, the sequence of mosaics in the lateral lunettes of the upper register present scenes of Christ's victory over death: from left to right, the Descent from the Cross, the Harrowing of Hell, the Resurrection, and the Ascension.^[51] The central lunette was originally blind and may have been pierced by several smaller windows; the present large window was inserted after the fire of 1419 destroyed the earlier structure.^[56] The reliefs of Christ and the Four Evangelists, now inserted into the northern façade, may also survive from the original decoration of the central lunette.^[57]

The four gilded bronze horses were among the early spoils brought from Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade.^[58] They were part of a quadriga adorning the Hippodrome and are the only equestrian team to survive from classical Antiquity.^[59] In the mid-thirteenth century, they were installed prominently on the main façade of St Mark's as symbols of Venice's military triumph over Byzantium and of its newfound imperial status as the successor of the Byzantine Empire.^[60] Since 1974 the original four horses are preserved inside, having been substituted with copies on the balcony over the central portal.^[61]

The aediculae on the northern façade contain statues of the four original Latin Doctors of the Church: Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great. Allegorical figures of Prudence, Temperance, Faith, and Charity top the lunettes.^[62]

The Gothic crowning continues in the upper register of the southern façade, the lunettes being topped with the allegorical figures of Justice and Fortitude and the aediculae housing statues of Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Paul the Hermit.^[63]

The southern façade is the most richly encrusted façade with rare marbles, spoils, and trophies, including the so-called pillars of Acre, the statue of the four tetrarchs embedded into the external wall of the treasury, and the porphyry imperial head on the south-west corner of the balcony, traditionally believed to represent Justinian II and popularly identified as Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola.^[64][65]

After a section of the narthex was partitioned off between 1100 and 1150 to create an entry hall, the niche that had previously marked the southern end of the narthex was removed, and the corresponding arch on the southern façade was opened to establish a second entry.^[66] Like the entry on the western façade, the passage was distinguished with precious porphyry columns.^[67] On either side, couchant lions and griffins were placed. Presumably, the southern entry was also flanked by the two carved pillars long believed to have been brought to Venice from the Genoese quarter in St Jean d'Acre as booty of the first Venetian–Genoese war (1256–1270) but actually spoils of the Fourth Crusade, taken from the Church of St Polyeuctus in Constantinople.

Former southern entry

Between 1503 and 1515, the entry hall was transformed into the funerary chapel of Giovanni Battista Cardinal Zen, bishop of Vicenza, who had bequeathed a large portion of his wealth to the Venetian Republic, asking to be entombed in St Mark's.^[68] The southern entrance was consequently closed, blocked by the altar and a window above, and although the griffins remain, much of the decoration was transferred or destroyed.^[69] The pillars were moved slightly eastward.^[70]

The decoration of the southern entry hall to the church was redone in the thirteenth century in conjunction with work in the adjoining narthex; of the original appearance of the entry hall, nothing is known. The present mosaic cycle in the barrel vault forms the prelude to the mosaic cycle on the main façade, which narrates the translation of Saint Mark's relics from Alexandria in Egypt to Venice. The events depicted include the praedestinatio, the angelic prophecy that Mark would one day be buried in Venice, which affirms Venice's divine right to possess the relics. The authority of Saint Mark is demonstrated in the scenes that show the writing of his Gospel which is then presented to Saint Peter. Particular relevance is also given to the departure of Saint Mark for Egypt and his miracles there, which creates continuity with the opening scene on the façade, depicting the removal of the body from Alexandria.^[71]

Although largely redone in the nineteenth century, the apse above the doorway that leads into the narthex probably maintains the overall aspect of the decoration from the first half of the twelfth century with the Virgin flanked by angels, a theme common in middle-Byzantine churches.^[72]

Although St Mark's was modelled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, ceremonial needs and limitations posed by the pre-existing walls and foundations made it necessary to adapt the design.^[73] The cruciform plan with five domes was maintained. However the Holy Apostles was a true centrally planned church: the central dome, larger than the others, was alone pierced with windows, and the altar was located underneath. There was no distinction between the four crossarms: no apse existed and double-tiered arcades surrounded the interior on all sides. In contrast, the longitudinal axis was emphasized to create a space appropriate for processions associated with state ceremonies. Both the central and western domes are larger, accentuating the progression along the nave, and by means of a series of increasingly smaller arches, the nave visually narrows towards the raised chancel in the eastern crossarm, where the altar stands.^[32] The crossarms of the transept are shorter and narrower. Optically, their height and width are further reduced by the insertion of arches, supported on double columns within the barrel vaults. The domes of the transept and the chancel are also smaller.^[74]

As with the Holy Apostles, each dome rests on four barrel vaults, those of the central dome rising from quadripartite (four-legged) piers. But the two-tiered arcades that reinforced the vaults in the Holy Apostles were modified. In St Mark's there are no upper arcades, and as a result the aisles are less isolated from the central part of the church. The effect is of more unified sense of space and an openness that have parallels in other Byzantine churches constructed in the eleventh century, an indication that the chief architect was influenced by middle-Byzantine architectural models in addition to the sixth-century Church of the Holy Apostles.^[30][75]

Entry to the chancel with the Dome of Immanuel above the high altar

The chancel is enclosed by a Gothic altar screen, dated 1394. It is surmounted by a bronze and silver Crucifix, flanked by statues of the Virgin and Saint Mark, together with the Twelve Apostles.^[76] On the left of the screen is the ambo for readings from Scripture, while the on the right is the platform from which the newly elected Doge was presented to the people.^[77]

Behind, marble banisters mark the limit of the choir, which after the reorganization by Doge Andrea Gritti (in office 1523–1538) was utilized by the Doge, civic leaders, and foreign ambassadors.^[78][79] Prior to the sixteenth century, the Doge's throne was located near the choir chapel of Saint Clement I, whose doorway opened to the courtyard of the Doge's Palace. The chapel was reserved for the Doge's private use.^[80] From the window above, which communicates with his private apartments, it was also possible for the Doge to assist at mass in the church.

The tribunes on either side of the chancel are faced with bronze reliefs that portray events in the life of Saint Mark and his miracles.^[81] Beyond the banisters is the presbytery, reserved for the clergy, with the high altar which since 1835 contains the relics of Saint Mark, previously located in the crypt.^[81] The ciborium above the altar is supported by four intricately carved columns with scenes that narrate the lives of Christ and the Virgin. The age and provenance of the columns is disputed, with proposals ranging from sixth-century Byzantium to thirteenth-century Venice.^[82] The altarpiece, originally designed as an antependium, is the Pala d'Oro, a masterpiece of Byzantine enamels on gilded silver.^[83][84]

The two choir chapels, located on either side of the chancel, occupy the space corresponding to the lateral aisles in the other crossarms. They are connected to the chancel through archways which also serve to reinforce the barrel vaults supporting the dome above.^[85] The choir chapel on the northern side is dedicated to Saint Peter. Historically, it was the principal area for the clergy.^[86][87] The mosaic decoration in the vaults above the chapels largely narrates the life of Saint Mark, including the events of the translatio. They constitute the oldest surviving representation of the transfer of Saint Mark's relics to Venice.^[88]