St Mark’s Basilica, Venice
Saint Mark’s Basilica sits in Piazza san Marco, Venice. This shot was taken as the sun was setting and really captures the golden facade in the failing light, giving it a warm glow as the tourists start to fade away to the bars for another glass of prosescco.
Connected to the Doge’s Palace, the cathedral is a beautiful example of Byzantine architecture and it’s history is too detailed for me to go into here. Suffice to say both the facade and interior are visually stunning, covered in gold, bronze, mosaic and jewels.
Top tip for St Mark’s Basilica: If you don’t fancy a guided tour, then swot up on the architecture and history before you go. Here’s my edit of the best resources:
- An overview of the square and the basilica at Sacred Destinations
- A fairly detailed history can be found here.
- Walking tour of the square at Smithsonian Magazine
Click here for more of my pix and tips for Italy and Venice here.
That’s a great photo, and one place that I really want to go, even more so now!
Thanks for the comment! Venice is such a beauiful place; I would go back just to wander the streets and see what I stumble upon. You could be walking down a narrow passage to nowhere and it opens up into a beautiful piazza bordered by a magnificent church! Or you could be ambling down the promenade and discover the picture perfect residential streets full of washing lines strung between the buildings on either side of the cobble stone path…
It is such a magnificent building. Your pic is lovely.
Thanks for the compliment. It is hard to photograph something that has been photographed many times before. But it was at dusk that the building glowed gold and I am glad I got to capture it.