Venice - Piazza San Marco - Then & Now

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Day 9 & 10 - Explore Venice

Piazza San Marco - Then & Now
        "The world's most beautiful drawing room!" Napoleon


There is only one piazza in Venice and that is Piazza San Marco or St. Mark's Square. The original piazza was constructed in the 9thC in front of the original St. Mark's Basilica which was then just a small chapel connected to the Doge's Palace.  Surrounded by a wooden fortified wall and dotted with trees, the piazza became the heart of the city and the seat of political power in the Middle Ages.
 It was here that butchers, bakers and other tradesmen would set up their wares, and the rich and 
poor celebrated with parades and ceremonies. It was the center of civic and religious life. Over the centuries the ancient square continued to grow into a 170-meters long trapezoid with the addition of 
a new basilica, a bell tower, a clock tower, government offices, a piazzetta, cafes and museums. As these "then and now" images show, even with all the changes through the centuries, San Marco Square is still the most beautiful drawing room in the world.

The Piazza then..
and now.

The Piazzetta then....

  In the second half of the 12th C the piazza was enlarged.  The space in front of the Basilica and Doge's Palace was doubled which allowed for the creating of a Piazzetta - a landing which leads to the San Marco Basin.  Two large columns were installed which visually separate the Piazza from the Piazzetta.  When completed, the Piazza was a showcase for the city's aristocracy, and the approach from the sea was most impressive -a reminder of Venice's century-old legacy as a maritime republic.

 There is an interesting legend about the columns.  A gift from Constantinople in the 12th C,  the three ornate columns were shipped to Venice.  One of the three columns slipped off the boat as it neared the basin - never to be seen again.  The other two, a winged lion (symbol of the Venetian Republic) and St. Theodore (first patron saint of Venice) poking a dragon,  were unloaded but lay on the ground for years until a plan to raise them was devised.  It is also said that at one point the space between the columns was a public execution spot, and that is why Venetians never walk between the columns.

and now.


San Marco Basilica then ... 

and now.

Doge's Palace then...

and now.

Campanile then ...
and now.

 View of the east end of the square with the Basilica and Campanile.


View of the west end with the loggias of the Procuratie Vecchie, Ala Napoleonica and Procuratie Nuove which now are mostly government offices and museums.  Also here is Italy's first ever cafe - the famous Cafe Florian.  Opened in 1720, the upper class from all over the world came here to sip hot chocolate - an 18thC symbol of wealth and luxury.  Today a beer at the cafe will cost you 10 euros, but as Rick Steves points out, you are paying for the experience, not the beer.
https://flic.kr/p/26UEP8B

Enjoy this gorgeous drone footage of the Piazza at sunrise.
https://youtu.be/9nzBxX95kHA



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