In the Byzantine style the Basilica of San Marco squats over its Piazza, a glamorous visitor from another world. A visit is quite-rightly seen as the highlight of any visit to Venice.
When I visited in November you entered via a catwalk - the waters of the lagoon had started to rise. The piazza was speckled with water forcing its way up through the drains, and inside the marble flooring of the
narthex was slick and shiny with moisture. Appropriately enough mosaics of Noah and the flood, amongst other Old Testament scenes, are overhead. Once into the nave you are dazzled by gold. The domes, the arches, the walls, all have Byzantine style mosaics against a rich gilt background. It felt like being inside one of those copper jelly-moulds you see hanging in posh country kitchens (just over from the Aga). The colours were incredibly vivid, despite mostly being 12th-13th century. They reminded me of the nineteenth-century work in the Church on Spilt Blood in St Petersburg - however, despite all the gold they were not so gauche. The floor too was patterned marble, taking in geometric forms, peacocks, and some Escher-esque 3D designs.
€1.50 lets you up to the sanctuary where the high altar sits over what is supposed to be the tomb of St Mark (his relics were nicked from Alexandria in 828 by Venetian merchants, allegedly smuggled past the Muslim guards by being hidden in a confection of pork). Behind is the Pala d'Oro. As if you hadn't had enough
bling this is the finest confection of worked gold and inlaid gems from Constantinople and Venice, dating from 976. And 1105. And 1209. And 1345. As well as the gold it contains 300 sapphires, 300 emeralds, 400 garnets, 15 rubies, 1300 pearls and so forth. The detail of workmanship is exquisite, forcing you to squint.
Another €3 and you can climb to the Museo Marciano. The highlights here are the elevated view straight down the nave, a closer peer at some of the mosaics, and the Doge's-eye view from the balcony over St Mark's Square. The real sell is meant to be the Roman horses of San Marco. And yes, the four steeds are very naturalistic, but they did not wow me.
Returning outside to the square you can see the first known depiction of the basilica in the mosaics above the left entrance. Follow the wall round towards the Palazzo Ducale to check out the porphyry Tetrarchs set into the angle of the wall.
Entry to the Basilica itself, is free, though I certainly recommend paying the extra fees detailed above. From Monday to Saturday it opens from 9.30am to 5pm, and from 2-4 on Sundays. I would recommend being an early bird - as I said, it is a must-see, and everyone else seems to agree. It gets busy. At rush hour you would be very lucky to get a good enough study of the Pala d'Oro.
From journal We Open In Venice...