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Basilica di San Marco

Welcome to my Blog on the Basilica di San Marco. Feel free to explore all of the tabs at the top of the page and click the hyperlinked terms.  Scroll down through the homepage to read more about the art of the Basilica di San Marco and its importance or click on Artwork.  Venetian history and the history of the Basilica di San Marco can be viewed under the "History" tab or by clicking here.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Piazza_San_Marco_with_the_Basilica,_by_Canaletto,
_1730._Fogg_Art_Museum,_Cambridge.jpg

The Dream of St. Mark

The Dream of St. Mark

Rosand, David. Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2001. Print.

Inspired by TheApparition of Christ to St. Mark from the Pala d’Oro, the The Dream of St. Mark is a mosaic that expands on the original message of Christ to St. Mark.  This piece of artwork expanded the message to “Hic requiescet corpus tuum” which sanctioned Venice as the final resting place for St. Mark.  This mosaic, therefore, created the notion of praedestinatio (Rosand, Myths of Venice, 2,51).

The Lion of St. Mark

The Lion of St. Mark

Rosand, David. Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2001. Print.

The mosaic of The Lion of St. Mark is an image of a large lion above water dominating the landscape.  The large lion, a symbol for St. Mark, and therefore, a symbol of Venice, represents Venetian expansion and dominance extending from the land to sea (Rosand, Myths of Venice, 2, 52).

The Miraculous Apparition of the Relics

The Miraculous Apparition of the Relics

http://library.artstor.org/library/iv2.html?parent=true

Three days after praying for the recovery of the relics of St. Mark (as documented in The Prayer forthe Recovery of the Relics), a stone mysteriously fell to reveal the relics of St. Mark.  The rediscovery of the relics once again symbolically affirmed Venice’s ties to St. Mark and the concept of praedestinatio (Rosand, Myths of Venice, 2, 58).

The Prayer for the Recovery of the Relics

The Prayer for the Recovery of the Relics

Rosand, David. Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2001. Print.

In 976, a group of rebels burned the Basilica di San Marco as a part of a revolt.  It wasn’t until 1071 that the Basilica di San Marco was rebuilt.  By 1094, people began to realize that the relics of St. Mark had been missing for over one hundred years.  In response, the doge and the clergy led the people in prayer in hopes of relocating the relics of St. Mark.  This prayer ceremony is documented in The Prayer for the Recovery of the Relics (Rosand, Myths of Venice, 2, 58).

The Reception of the Relics of St. Mark

The Reception of the Relics of St. Mark

http://venice11.umwblogs.org/files/2011/11/IMG_2917-800x600.jpg

After two Venetian merchants removed the relics of St. Mark from Alexandria and brought them to Venice in the early ninth century, the Venetian people were ecstatic to receive the relics.  The Reception of the Relics of St. Mark is a mosaic that depicts the joyous Venetians accepting the relics of St. Mark.  This mosaic is located behind the altar of the Basilica di San Marco.  This placement indicates that The Reception of the Relics of St. Mark  is a very important piece of art to the history of Venice (Rosand, Myths of Venice, 2, 58).