The Basilica di San Marco in Venice houses over 8,000 square meters of Byzantine mosaics and the Pala d’Oro altarpiece containing 1,927 gems. Many of its treasures, including the bronze horses now displayed in the museum (replicas stand on the facade), were looted from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Free entry covers the main nave; separate paid sections cover the museum, the Pala d’Oro, and the treasury. Book a timed entry reservation at basilicasanmarco.it to avoid long queues. Reach it via Vaporetto lines 1 or 2 to San Marco Vallaresso. Allow 1-2 hours.
cathedral in Venice
Basilica di San Marco
St. Mark's body arrived in Venice in 828 after Venetian merchants smuggled it out of Alexandria, reportedly concealing the corpse in a barrel of pork fat to pass Muslim customs inspection.
- Type
- cathedral
- Destination
- Venice
- Cost
- Free to visit
- Founded
- 1063
- Era
- Byzantine
- Address
- Piazza San Marco 328, 30124 Venice
- Coordinates
- 45.4345, 12.3398
- Official website
- Visit website