The world-famous water city of Venice is an ancient city with more than 1,500 years of history, and St. Mark's Square, located on the island of Riato in the heart of the city, was called "the most beautiful square in the world" by Napoleon.
There is a moving legend about this square.
A long time ago, Venice was a desolate beach. Once, Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, went to Italy as a missionary and took a boat through the coast of Riato, when a storm suddenly broke out and the ship was blown into the swamp and ran aground. In this desperate situation, Marco prayed to heaven and asked the angel to rescue him. At this moment he seemed to hear the call of the angel, "Peace, Mark! You coexist with Venice. In honor of Marco, St. Mark's Square and St. Mark's Church were built, and Marco himself was worshipped by Venice as a protector.
Aerial view of St. Mark's Square
Piazza San Marco is 175.5 meters long, 57 meters wide and has an area of 122 hectares. The ground is inlaid with colorful smooth stone slabs, with a series of marble arches on three sides and a glorious St. Mark's official on the other. Founded in the 11th century AD, The Crown of St. Mark is a collection of different styles and eras of architecture, and is known as a masterpiece of Western civilization.
In the middle of the square is St. Mark's Basilica, built in 829 AD, which was rebuilt from the 11th to the 17th centuries AD and turned into a cathedral in 1807, becoming the most famous resort in Venice. The dome of the church resembles an onion, and the Byzantine minaret has more than 500 marble columns inside and outside. In the center of the top of the door are 4 gilded galloping horse statues from Constantinople from the 13th century. Inside the church is the mausoleum of St. Mark, and the walls are covered with ornate frescoes inlaid with stones, broken porcelain and stained glass, which are dazzling and beautiful, and have been called "the most beautiful church in the world"
St. Mark's Bell Tower, in front of the church to the right, was built at the end of the 9th century AD, collapsed in 1902, and restored in 1912. Most of the bell tower is made of smooth red brick stone, with 9 floors and 99 meters high, and the elevator to the top offers panoramic views of Venice. On each side of the bell stood a bronze Moorish, one old and one young, holding a sledgehammer, and at every hour, the bell automatically struck, and the loud bell sounded throughout the city. What is particularly interesting is that at 12 noon, when the bell rings, a group of pigeons foraging in the square suddenly flies, and the scene is very spectacular, forming a unique scene of Venice.
On one side of the square is a strangely named bridge, the Bridge of Sighs. It is said that this bridge is the only way for prisoners sentenced to death to pass from prison to the execution site, and when prisoners pass through this bridge and see the beauty of St. Mark's Square, they are all sad and sigh, so they are called "Bridge of Sighs".
Bridge of sighs
At high tide, the tide pours in, like a huge mirror laid on the square, and the golden buildings and the clouds and birds in the sky are clearly reflected on it, forming a gorgeous picture of the Venetian temple.
Encountering the beauty of European architecture, I am LingShu and Painting, thank you for your praise and support.