Piazza San Marco is the main public square in Venice, Italy. It is located in front of the great Byzantine church known as Basilica di San Marco. It is also known as St. Mark’s Square. It is shaped as a trapezium with a length of 176 meters and a width between 62 meters and 82 meters.
Inside this square, there are two very special symbols that let you know you are definitely in Venice. The first is St. Theodore’s statue and the other is St. Mark’s lion.
Quick Facts: –
- The dominant feature of the square to the east is the Saint Mark’s Basilica, close to the Palazzo Patricale.
- The Saint Mark’s Basilica is the home of the Patriarch of Venice.
- Originally, Piazza San Marco was a very small area constructed back in 900 A.D.
- The side of the Palazzo Ducale facing the Marciana library, there are two pink columns between all the white ones.
- Piazza San Marco is the lowest point in Venice. It is always the first area to get flooded in a situation of an Acqua Alta.
- The water doesn’t flood from the lagoon onto the square. It comes from underneath through the drain holes.
- The Piazza San Marco is the only square in Venice which is called a Piazza.
- The 3 flagpoles in front of the basilica are original ship’s masts. They refer to the 3 kingdoms that Venice conquered: Cyprus, Crete and the Peloponnese.
- This square has always been the location of important government buildings and other facilities central to the goings on in Venice.
