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St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) in Venice

St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), with its pigeons, bustle, and cafes, is one of the first things that come to mind when you think of Venice. And for good reason - San Marco is one of the most famous and beautiful squares in the world. It has also been dubbed "the Drawing Room of Europe". In Venice, it is the only one that has been granted the honor of being called a piazza; the rest of the squares bear the names of campi or campielli. St. Mark's Square has witnessed the most important moments of the city's history, and within its perimeter lie some of the most famous Venetian tourist attractions.

St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark's Basilica is the most important building in the square. With its stone lacework, multitude of statues, colored marble, and gilded mosaics, the basilica captures everyone's attention. Inside are housed the relics of St. Mark, as well as the valuable panel of gold, silver, and precious stones known as the Pala d'Oro, the church treasury, and a museum where you can see, among other things, the original statues of the four horses from the facade. From the church terrace (Loggia dei Cavalli), a panoramic view of the entire St. Mark's Square opens up.

As for the visit, you can buy tickets online (to secure a spot, you'll need to buy them in advance), or you can book a guided tour.

St. Mark's Basilica Tours

Piazzetta dei Leoncini

The small square located to the left of the basilica, on the northern side, is called Piazzetta dei Leoncini. It was laid out in 1722, and its name is due to the two lion statues made of red marble.

The Clock Tower

Also to the left of the basilica, connecting St. Mark's Square and the Mercerie - the most famous commercial artery in Venice - is the Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio). It is also known as the "Moors' Tower" (Torre dei Mori), after the two bronze figures that strike the hours.

Standing about 24m tall, the Clock Tower was built in 1499 and expanded in the following centuries. Its great astronomical clock indicates the day, the 24 hours, the phases of the Moon, and the signs of the zodiac. Legend says that the Venetians blinded those who designed the revolutionary mechanism so they could not create another like it for rival powers.

The Clock Tower in Venice can be seen inside only with a guided visit (English, Italian, or French).

Procuratie Vecchie

The Procuratie are the arcaded buildings that flank St. Mark's Square on three sides and take their name from the fact that they housed the apartments and workspaces of the procurators - high officials designated since the 9th century to manage the administration of the Basilica's heritage and later charitable and testamentary duties. The Procuratoria di San Marco institution still exists today, overseeing the conservation and restoration of the church.

Procuratie Vecchie represents the wing located to the left of the Basilica and the Clock Tower. Rebuilt in the 16th century, the building stretches for about 150m and has 50 arches on the ground floor, housing all sorts of shops, restaurants, and cafes (famous ones include Caffè Quadri, dating from 1755, and Caffè Lavena, from 1750, which had the composer Richard Wagner among its regular customers).

A detail for curiosity seekers: if you look very carefully under the arches towards the corner near the Correr Museum, in front of Sotoportego de l'Arco Celeste, you will find a small iron medallion. This marks the exact axis of St. Mark's Basilica, which is not perfectly aligned with the square but has a position slightly rotated to the left (as you look at it).

Correr Civic Museum

Part of the Procuratie complex, the Correr Museum is located at the opposite end of St. Mark's Square from the Basilica. The building is newer, dating from the beginning of the 19th century when Napoleon, invading Venice, also ordered the redecoration of the square. Thus, an old church that had been renovated in the 16th century by Sansovino was demolished, and the Ala Napoleonica ("Napoleonic Wing"), also called Fabbrica Nuova ("New Building"), was constructed. The construction linked the two Procuratie on opposite sides, thereby closing off St. Mark's Square.

One of the city's most important museums, the Correr Museum is dedicated to Venetian history, civilization, and art. It takes its name from the Venetian nobleman Teodoro Correr, whose collections formed the initial core of the museum.

If you look from the Correr Museum, you will notice that the square is not rectangular but has a trapezoidal shape, widening towards the basilica to give the illusion of a larger space.

The entrance ticket to the Doge's Palace also includes access to the Correr Museum, the Archaeological Museum, and the Marciana Library.

Procuratie Nuove

To the right of St. Mark's Basilica and facing the Procuratie Vecchie is the Procuratie Nuove building, constructed during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Among the arches on the ground floor is Caffè Florian, Italy's oldest cafe, and above it are hosted part of the Correr Museum, the Archaeological Museum, and part of the Marciana Library.

St. Mark's Campanile

Next is St. Mark's Campanile, the famous bell tower of the basilica, located on the corner between the Procuratie Nuove building and the Marciana Library.

The Campanile is the tallest tower in Venice, and from its terrace, on clear days, one can see far into the distance.

Piazzetta San Marco

The space towards the sea of St. Mark's Square is called Piazzetta San Marco. In the past, this was the monumental gateway to the city from the water and, until the 16th century, it hosted a food market.

Coming from St. Mark's Square, on the right side, after the Campanile, you will see the building of the St. Mark's Library (Biblioteca Marciana or Libreria Sansoviniana), whose facade was designed in the 16th century by Sansovino. Its purpose was to house the precious collection of books donated to the city by Cardinal Bessarion.

Next (with its facade towards the sea) is the Zecca, Venice's mint, also designed in the 16th century by Sansovino, which today houses part of the Library's collections.

On the left, continuing from the Basilica, rises the imposing Doge's Palace. If you look at the columns on the facade facing the Piazzetta, you will notice that two are made of red marble, while the rest are white. Death sentences were read between these two columns.

Doge's Palace Tours

The entrance from the sea is guarded by the two red granite columns of St. Mark and St. Theodore (San Tòdaro). At the top of these are the winged lion, symbol of Mark the Evangelist, the current patron of the city, and St. Theodore, the old protector of Venice, killing a dragon. The columns were brought from the Orient as war booty, most likely in the 13th century. There were supposed to be three, but one was lost at sea along with the ship carrying it. An old legend explains the different positioning of the protagonists of the two columns: the lion looks eastward, as a symbol of Venice's role as protector of Christianity in the Orient, while St. Theodore (San Tòdaro in Venetian dialect) looks toward the land to protect it.

The superstition persists to this day that it brings bad luck to pass between the two columns. The explanation is simple: in the past, death sentences read between the two red columns of the Doge's Palace were carried out there. Venetians even have an expression: "I'll make you see what time it is", referring to the fact that the last thing those condemned to death saw was the time shown by the Clock Tower.