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Basilica San Marco
First church built in 828 to house the body of St. Mark
Third and present church built 1066 - 1099 with modifications in 13th and 14th centuries
In 828, Venetian merchants stole the body of Saint Mark from his tomb in Alexandria, Egypt and brought it to Venice where the first Basilica was built to house the Evangelist as a display of the city's power and prestige. The present church is modeled on the sixth-century Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople with an equal-sided cross surmounted by five symmetrically placed, monumental domes. The west wing was later enlarged by adding a surrounding narthex. The marble columns and slabs, the mosaics and carvings, the paintings and statuary, the gold and jeweled icons, and the countless other treasures in the building reflect many centuries of Venetian dominance over the eastern Mediterranean.
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Photo: Karen L. Marshall
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