When was piazza san marco built

Since this time, it has been the religious, political and social centre of Venice. The white marble lines across the square are from the 18th century and mark the locations of the market stalls, which were located here during the week when a large market took place. The vast majority of visitors of Venice begin or end their visit of Venice here and enjoy one or two coffees in one of the famous square cafes.

The old and new procuracies border the square to the north and south of the piazza. They were once seat of the procurators, who where responsible for the church property and later also for the entire municipal administration. The Procuratie Vecchie, the old procuracy is from the early 16th century. Due to increasing human resource requirements at the beginning of the 17th century the Procuratie Nuove were built on the opposite side.

The Museo Correr is also located here. The two procuracies are connected by the Ala Napoleonica which was built at the request of Napoleon. To the east, the Piazza San Marco is limited by the St. It is a huge clock tower above the doorway at the north end of the square. A visit and brief stop at one of the three famous cafes at St. The majority of the visitors entered the city and were welcomed by the Venetians here.

At the head of the square, facing the lagoon, two huge granite columns, the Colonne di Marco e Teodoro, border the Piazzetta San Marco. The Doge Michieli brought them once from a trip to Lebanon and erected them there. Originally there were three columns but one of them fell into the sea during unloading.

The two columns are crowned by the Venetian Lion of St. During the 12th Century, one of the most important historical episodes of the time occurred in St Mark's Square. Through the mediation of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, The picture of Gentile Bellini, of impressive size x cm , is one of the most famous representations of Saint Mark's Square.

It was done in and shows the The Republic produced galleys for the most important types of merchant shipping, it armed them, provided sailors and soldiers and then put them up for auction to the highest Bull fighting, in reality oxen fighting, was usually permitted during carnival period with the permission of the Committee of Ten. If you would like to eat near the square, we suggest heading to the Giardini ex Reali, a very pleasant garden nearby.

The Grand Canal is the largest and most famous canal in Venice. It is nearly four kilometres long and separates one half of Venice from the other. Mark's Basilica can be found next to the Doge's Palace in the square which bears its name. Historically it is the centre of religious life in Venice.

Nightlife The square comes to life at dusk when the weather is warm enough. Location Historic center of Venice. Grand Canal Basilica di San Marco.