The story of this place
According to legend, in 828 two Venetian merchants stole the body of St Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, hiding it under layers of pork to deter Muslim inspectors. The relic gave Venice its patron and identity, and the basilica—consecrated in its present form in 1094—was built to house it beside the Doge's Palace. Its five domes, over 8,000 square metres of golden mosaics, and Eastern silhouette proclaim Venice's role as the bridge between Latin Europe and Byzantium. Much of its splendour was plundered from Constantinople during the 1204 Fourth Crusade, including the four bronze horses over the entrance. Napoleon called the piazza before it 'the finest drawing room in Europe.'