The Cathedral of San Marco - this is perhaps the most visited temple of Venice and one of the most popular tourist attractions. It is located in the center of the city - on St. Mark's Square near the Doge's Palace. The Cathedral of San Marco is known not only for its stunning architecture in the Byzantine style, but also because it is in this temple that the relics of the apostle Mark are located. In addition, here you can see many art objects brought from Constantinople during the time of the crusades.

The history of the cathedral of San Marco began in 828 . Two Bueno and Rustico Venetian merchants, Alexandria, decided at all costs to save the relics of the apostle Mark and deliver them to his hometown . The fact is that the Italians became aware of the upcoming mosque buildings in place of Christian churches . When the merchants realized that the churches simply -just nothing will remain, they decided on the table a serious step . It is worth noting that Buono and Rustico devised a cunning plan . They hid the body of Mark in a basket under pork carcasses and thus transferred the relics to his ship . After the body of the evangelist was brought to Venice, became the patron of the city, and the symbol of Venice - the winged lion .

The construction of the church began in 829. The construction of the cathedral of San Marco took only three years. Unfortunately, the original appearance of the building was not preserved - the building was badly damaged during the fire. A modern temple was built in 1063. In the following years the cathedral became more and more beautiful. Architects used several tens of thousands of larch piles to build the basilica. The fact is that this tree becomes very strong when it comes into contact with water, which is the best for building buildings in Venice

By the way, the church of the Twelve Apostles in Constantinople is considered to be the prototype of the church. Basilica played an important role in the life of Venice. The cathedral was crowned by the Doges, sent to distant wanderings by famous sailors, citizens of the city gathered here on holidays and days of national disasters.

St. Mark's cathedral still functions today - as in any church, divine services are held here. In the basilica is one of the main Venetian shrines - the golden altar, or Pala D'Oro. It represents 80 small icons, richly decorated with gold and stones. The altar is unique - it took almost 500 years to create it.

Practical information

The San Marco cathedral lasts about 10 minutes . Visitors should be appropriately dressed - you should not visit the temple in defiant clothes. Photo and video are prohibited. The entrance to the basilica is free.

Opening hours from November to April: 9:45 - 17:00, Sunday and holidays: 14:00 - 16:00. Opening hours of the museum: 9:45 - 16:45, ticket price - 5 EUR. Opening hours of Pala D`Oro: 9:45 - 16:00, Sunday and holidays: 14:00 - 16:00, ticket price - 2 EUR.

Opening times from April to November: basilica: 9:45 - 17:00, Sunday and public holidays: 14:00 - 17:00. Museum: 9:45 - 16:45, Pala D`Oro: 9:45 - 17:00, Sunday and holidays: 14:00 - 17:00.

Opening hours of the bell tower: October: 9:00 - 19 : 00, the ticket price is 8 EUR. November - April: 9:30 - 15:45, April - June: 9:00 - 19:00, July - September: 9:00 - 21:00.

All prices are indicated as of December 2013.

Cathedral of San Marco

Interior of the Cathedral of San Marco

Entrance to the Cathedral of San Marco

Marble floor in the Cathedral of San Marco