Interesting Facts About St. Mark's Cathedral Venice - Fun Facts About St. Mark's Basilica Venice

St Mark's Cathedral of Venice, also known as St Mark's Basilica, is one of the most famous as well as most beautiful churches in the city. Dominating Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square), the cathedral has been in existence since 828. It was consecrated in 1094 and has been serving as the seat of the Archbishop of Venice since 1807. The consecration of St Mark's Cathedral took place the same year in which the body of Saint Mark was allegedly rediscovered in a pillar by Vitale Falier, who was doge of Venice at the time. Read on to know some more fun and interesting facts about St Mark's Basilica of Venice.

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Fun & Interesting Facts about St. Mark's Cathedral

St. Mark's Cathedral of Vince is also known as St. Mark's Basilica.
The Cathedral is most famous church in the entire city of Venice.
St. Mark's Cathedral is one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture in the world.
The Cathedral is located on St Mark's Square, in the San Marco district and is connected to the adjacent Doge's Palace.
St. Mark's Cathedral initially served as the "chapel" of the Venetian rulers.
Since 1807, the Cathedral has been the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice.
St. Mark's Cathedral has been nicknamed as Chiesa d'Oro (Church of Gold). This is because of its affluent design, gilded Byzantine mosaics and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power.
The Cathedral was consecrated on 8^th October 1094.
Initially, St Mark's was a temporary building in the Doge’s Palace, constructed in 828.
It was in 832 that a new St Mark's was built on its present site.
The new St Mark's, built in 832, was burned in a rebellion in 976 and was rebuilt in 978.
The Cathedral was rebuilt in 1063, under Doge Domenico Contarini, on the same Greek cross plan as the earlier one. The construction was finished in 1096.
The decorative work on St Mark's Cathedral continued until the beginning of the 19^th century.
The exterior of the Cathedral stands divided into three registers - lower, upper, and domes.
The Horses of Saint Mark were installed on St Mark's Cathedral in c.1254.
The Four Tetrarchs, representing the inter-dependence of four rulers, were set into the south-west corner of the Cathedral in 1204.
The interior of St Mark's Cathedral is based on a Greek cross. It has each arm divided in three naves and emphasized by a dome of its own.
The marble floor of the Cathedral is entirely tessellated in geometric patterns and animal designs.
The upper order of the interior of St Mark's Cathedral is adorned with bright mosaics, containing gold, bronze and a wide variety of stones.
It is said that the Cathedral has been modeled after Constantine's Church of the Holy Apostles (now destroyed) and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
Gilded mosaics cover the walls and ceilings of St Mark's Cathedral, covering an area of around 8,000 square meters.

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