A week in Venice (day 6): Basilica of St Mark

Never posted, bought in 1987.

Venezia
Basilica di San Marco - Alba
Basilique de S Marc - Aube
St Mark's Church - Dawn
Markuskirche das Morgengrauen
Basilica de S. Marcos - Alba

The Basilica is a stunning building and not, I think, done a great deal of justice by this postcard. It was first constructed in 828, a temporary building, then replaced in 832. It burned down in 976 during a rebellion, was rebuilt in 978 and again 1063.

Although the basic structure has remained more or less the same, the decorations have undergone constant change. Every time a Venetian ship returned from the east, it would bring a frieze, a column, a carving, often even older than the basilica itself.