The seat of Ducal power was transferred to the St. Mark's Basin in the 9th century. It was then that the first Doge's Palace and the original church of St. Mark's were built; and from then on the Republic made every effort to guarantee that this part of the city was a fittingly monumental expression of Venetian power. All guides to the city dedicate many pages to the description of this square - which is the only one in Venice that enjoys the title of "piazza" - so the present note is intended as a brief outline of the main historical and artistic features of the area (along with a few suggestions for further background reading). The classical world - and the late classical models of Constantinople in particular - had a great influence upon the development of Venice. This influence was so clear that when the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cardinal Bessarion, took refuge here in 1453 after the capital of the Roman Empire in the East had fallen to the Turks, he coined the famous expression "Venetiae quasi alterum Byzantium" [Venice, almost another Byzantium]. However this metaphorical "traslatio imperii" [transfer of empires] was nothing new to Venice, given that it had been the Venetians themselves who had "re-directed" the IV Crusade against Constantinople and then set up a short-lived Latin Empire in the East under the Protectorate of Venice. So it should come as no surprise that the square makes symbolic reference to Byzantium not only in its overall layout (which comprises ruler's palace, church/mausoleum, a ceremonial court, basilica, porticoes, triumphal arches and military trophies) but also in the very style of its architecture. In fact, the light and airy form of the buildings here makes St. Mark's Square much closer in appearance to a classical forum than to the other city squares of medieval Christendom.
The opulent and seductive Church of St. Mark's (1) was originally built as a palace chapel for the Doge and his court; it should be remembered that it only became the Cathedral of Venice in 1807, when it was raised to the same rank as the Church of San Pietro in Castello, which was the ancient seat of the Patriarchs of the Venice diocese. Far from being a grim and threatening castle, the Doge's Palace (2) has an almost fairytale appearance that expresses wisdom as well as strength. It was the Doge's official residence as well as being the seat of government and the law courts. Its remarkably complete collection of original furnishings and decorations offer an opportunity for a comprehensive study of the course of Venetian history (along with the usually visit to the Palace's museum, the visitor should not miss the Secret Itineraries of the Doge's Palace guided tour, which has to be booked in advance). The Palace's two main facades make a great impression upon any visitor; work on them started in the middle of the fourteenth century and went on for almost a century (then, as later, the original style was maintained unchanged in homage to the traditions of Venetian architecture). The Gothic enthusiasm of the design actually subverts the usual structural order, with massive walls surmounting airy loggias (the inspiration for the idea would seem to have been that of a building raised on wooden piles). The sculpture adorning the palace is of very great beauty, and the complexity of the refined symbolism behind the entire sculptural programme is similar to that one might find in a Gothic cathedral. Produced around the second half of the fourteenth century, the three main corner pieces are justly famous: near the main entrance to the palace there is The Judgement of Solomon (3) surmounted by an Archangel Gabriel (the Judgement is attributed to Jacopo della Quercia); on the corner nearest the Column of St. Mark there is Adam and Eve (4) with an Archangel Michael, whilst on the corner near the Ponte della Paglia there is the beautiful scene of The Drunkenness of Noah (5) with an Archangel Raphael. The symbolism of this decorative scheme is roughly as follows: Justice and Wisdom (Solomon) guarantee Peace (Gabriel) and make it possible to return to the happy age of original purity (Adam and Eve), whilst trade (Raphael) bears fruit only if accompanied by a sense of measure and piety (Noah's son covering his drunken father's nakedness); Archangel Michael's drawn swords instils fear in men and thus wards off sin.
The elegant Ponte della Paglia (6) was built in 1360 and from there - crowds permitting - you can take one of those snapshots that have become a veritable icon of international tourism: a view with the Bridge of Sighs (7) in the background. The name is, in fact, a pure invention of the romantic imagination - though it is true that the bridge was built around 1602 to link the Doge's Palace with the New Prisons (8), constructed around the same period (1589-1614). The varied Renaissance design on the eastern facade of Doge's Palace - giving onto the rio di Palazzo - is much more interesting. On the opposite side of the Piazzetta di San Marco stands the Marcian Library (9). Built over the period 1537-1553, this is one of Jacopo Sansovino's most famous designs, and the great architect Andrea Palladio said of it that it was "perhaps the richest and most ornate edifice that has been produced since the time of the Ancients" (a comment that may contain a hint of criticism with regard to all that mass of decoration). The library collection is built up around an original core consisting of the personal libraries of Francesco Petrarch (donated in 1362) and Cardinal Bessarion (donated in 1468). The Republic itself had guaranteed the Cardinal that a special public building would be erected to house the donated books; however, work only got underway in the sixteenth century, during the period when the Doge of the city was Andrea Gritti - the man mainly responsible for the Renaissance additions to the Square (see also, Campo San Francesco della Vigna and Palazzo Gritti). The external opulence of the Library is equalled by the magnificence of the public rooms on the first floor (now open to visitors and also used for exhibitions of works form the Library collections). The decoration here was the work of some of the most important painters of the period - including Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese - and also involved a large group of contemporary sculptors. As one might imagine, the present offices and reading rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana do not occupy these halls but are arranged around the internal courtyard and also occupy part of the Palazzo della Zecca (10) [The Mint] which stands behind the Library. Except for the top floor, the Mint is another of Sansovino's most famous designs; its massive facade can be best seen from the quayside making towards the Giardinetti Reali (11). Like a large churchyard laid out in front of St. Mark's Basilica, St. Mark's Square itself is bound on three sides by the Procuratie Nuove, the Ala Napoleonica and the Procuratie Vecchie. The unbroken line of porticoes and shops are a reminder of the important role that the Square has always played in the city's commercial life. The upper floors of the Procuratie were reserved for the offices and accommodation of the Procurators of St. Mark's, some of the highest-ranking State officials after the Doge himself. The Procuratie Nuove (12) was designed by the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi, who began work in 1582; though he took the Sansovino Library as the model for his elevation, he did try to introduce some "corrections" that were in line with the more rigorous Classicism of the day. These differences become clear when one looks at the join between the two buildings (opposite the left-hand side of the Campanile). Under Napoleon, the Procuratie Nuove were transformed into a Royal Palace, and they now house various public institutions, such as the Museo Correr, the Archeological Museum and the Museum of the Risorgimento and the Nineteenth Century. Access to the Museo Correr is by means of the Royal Stairs leading up from the porticoes of the Ala Napoleonica (13). Built between 1808-14, this wing was the last major building project in the Square and has always been one of the most controversial additions to the city's urban fabric. The wing was designed to provided an adequate ballroom for the Napoleonic Royal Palace, but its construction required the demolition of the Church of San Geminiano and of the western ends of the Procuratie Vecchie and the Procuratie Nuove. One of the most convincing criticisms of the project points to the pedestrian use of the motifs of the Sansovino Library. - which gives rise to a uniformity that verges on the boring.
The right side of the Square is occupied by the Procuratie Vecchie (14), which was built in the first decade of the sixteenth century to replace a similar medieval building. The work for the addition of the top floor was undertaken by Sansovino in 1532. The clarity of the facade and its decorative "castellation" make it a very charming addition to the Square. The Clock Tower (15) marks the north-east corner of the Square and stands astride the entrance to the Mercerie. The central part of the tower is the oldest and was designed by Mauro Codussi (in the last years of the fifteenth century), whilst the side sections are later additions. The body of the clock not only calculates time, zodiac signs, lunar phases and tides, it also contains a little known mechanism that comes into play every Ascension Week (when it powers four figures of an Angel and the Three Kings who every hour on the hour emerge from the two small doors on either side of the central section and form a short procession). The two bronze Moors (cast in 1497) which are located on the top of the tower and strike the bell every hour are much better known to visitors. Beyond the Tower, alongside the north wall of the Church of St. Mark's is the Piazzetta dei Leoncini, which is dominated by the neo-classical Patriarchal Palace (16); built 1837-1870, this stands on the site of what used to be part of the Doge's Palace. Almost at the centre of the St. Mark's Square stands the Campanile (17); the first tower here was built in the ninth century as a look-out tower, and was added to and extended many times over the course of the centuries. 96 metres high, the Campanile is equipped with a modern lift so that it is easy to enjoy quite remarkable views (on a clear day one can see as far as the Dolomites). The present structure is a copy of the original, which collapsed suddenly on the morning of 14 July 1902 (without causing any injuries). The photograph of the tower at the moment of its collapse is an amusing fake put together by a Venetian photographer. The rebuilding work was undertaken immediately under the slogan "dov'era, com'era" [Where it was, as it was] - which has recently been re-adopted as the rallying-cry for the rebuilding of the Fenice Opera House. At the foot of the Campanile stands the elegant Loggietta (1537-49); yet another work by Sansovino, it takes the form of a small triumphal arch. And it is no coincidence that the decorative scheme in this area - which is that of the main entrance to the Doge's Palace - constantly reiterates the identification of Venice and Justice. One can find this theme in the main bas-relief of the Loggietta, in the upper part of the Porta della Carta (1438) and in the already-mentioned sculptural group of the Judgement of Solomon. Time and again, the Republic reminded its people that Good Government (as exemplified by biblical wisdom) permitted progress in commerce and the arts whilst guaranteeing peace for the city and prosperity for its colonies. The significance of this use of symbols for triumphant self-celebration did not escape the men of the time: the apologiae of the age which perpetuated the myth of Venice as the motherland of freedom were partly justified by a comparison between what was permitted to citizens here and to those in other parts of Europe. What was more, Venetian government seemed to be based upon a balance between the three Aristotelian principles of Monarchy (embodied by the Doge), Aristocracy (embodied by the Senate) and Democracy (embodied by the Maggior Consiglio), and thus to stand as a bulwark against the erosions of time. Even the unusual appearance of the city, with its main constituents of light and water, left no room for doubt that "Venice being an impossibility, it is even set within the impossible, being founded upon the sea itself" (as Francesco Sansovino, son of the famous architect, so effectively put it).
So the square was a marketplace, a theatre, a ceremonial display ground, an execution site and a setting for sacred and profane processions. Each of these "paths" through it interweaving with others to create possible new readings of the space. Those who arrived by sea - the most common means of access - saw two monolithic columns of granite (18) surmounted by two statues symbolizing the patrons of the city, and might well have been reminded of the ancient image of the Brindisi end of the Via Appia - the most important of all Roman roads. And in the background they would see the Clock Tower, marking the entrance to the Mercerie - and thence the Rialto - at the same time as it sounded the hours of mercantile time. The more illustrious visitors would even have had the opportunity to pass through the various galleries, porticoes, and honorary archways before passing up dazzling monumental staircases to come before magistrates, senators and finally the Doge himself, who would be dressed as a Byzantine "basileus" and surrounded by a court ceremonial that would leave the visitor speechless with wonder. The unforgettable image of a Ducal procession across St. Mark's Square can be seen in Gentile Bellini's splendid Corpus Christi Procession in St. Mark's Square, painted at the end of the fifteenth century and now hanging in the Accademia Gallery. Last but not least, the classical spoils of the colonies are arranged around the Square with a knowing eye for effect: the Pillars of Acre (together with all the marble columns adorning the facade of the church), the mysterious statue of The Tetrarchs, the statues of St. Theodorus, the Lion and four Horses of St. Mark's were all trophies that bore witness to the might of the Serenissima.
