Saint Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), Venice

...view over-looking the rest of Saint Mark's Square must have been fantastic. If I find myself in Venice again (and I hope I will), I will be coming back here, and this time I will go up and have a look. From the outside looking up, you can see four bronze horses over-looking the square. The original horses are now in the museum (which is also inside the basilica, but I didn't find this either!), but the replicas are up here on the balcony, so I guess ...
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One of the most amazing things about the inside of the basilica is the atmosphere. Even if you are not a religious person, I guaurantee you will be awestruck by everything you will see. One thing that really struck me about the inside was the amount of space. It is enormous and wide, but the domes are so high up, it all makes for one truly colossal vessel. There are candles dotted around that create a quiet atmosphere.

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Yes, another Venice review...Probably my last one though...

Okay...Saint Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco) was built in 1071, and is in Venice, at St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco).

The square can be hard to find, or very easy, depending on how good you are at navigating the streets (needless to say, we had a bit of a struggle!) Even though the basilica is enormous, I couldn't see it at all until we stumbled straight onto St Mark's Square, where it suddenly leaps out on you, dominating the place. If ever you go to Venice I would strongly recommend a trip to St Marks Square, as this building is probably one of the most amazing you will ever see.

The thing that struck me first of all was the sheer colossal size of it. It is toweringly tall, and extemely wide, I have never seen anything like it. I was expecting to see a fantastic building, but I wasn't expecting it to be as breathtaking as it was. It really is beautiful as well, there is a huge arch in the middle, with two smaller ones on each side. The insides of these arches have been decorated with beautiful mosaics, each one depicting a different scene. I will include some photos I took, but unfortunately is was a drizzly day when we went, so they aren't as bright and bold as they should be, and cannot possible to justice to the basilica itself. You can see the huge domes as well from the front, which look even more amazing from the inside.

You are able to go inside the basilica, and entry is free. You aren't allowed to take large bags in with you, but there is a small chapel just around the corner where you can hand in your bags for free to keep them safe. You are given a ticket, which you just hand back in when you go to collect your bag.

The inside is just as awe-inspiring as the outside. Once your eyes adjust to the dim lighting you are fully able to appreciate the amazing mosaics and the hundreds (literally) of colums, inticately carved with detail. You can see the domes that you could see from the outside, the most impressive one being the central dome, which is huge, and depicts the New Testament in 13th century mosaics. There are four smaller domes as well, and these are all very impressive also.

There are many other mosaics, made from glass covered in gold-leaf. They show all kinds of religious scenes from the bible in great detail, and some of them are absolutely huge.

Whilst inside, we paid 1,50 Euros for a ticket to visit the Pala D'Oro, and huge gold screen set with jewels and plaques. This is in the main part of the basilica, but in a bit that has been roped off. It is worth paying to see, as it is very beautiful, and 1,50 Euros isn't really very much, considering you don't have to pay anything else. It has 250 panels encrusted with gemstones, so you can only imagine the size and the value of the piece.

There is also a balcony, which you can go up and walk along. I didn't do this part, we weren't sure if we were allowed up there, and we didn't know how to get up. However, you are allowed, and I wish I had, as the view over-looking the rest of Saint Mark's Square must have been fantastic. If I find myself in Venice again (and I hope I will), I will be coming back here, and this time I will go up and have a look. From the outside looking up, you can see four bronze horses over-looking the square. The original horses are now in the museum (which is also inside the basilica, but I didn't find this either!), but the replicas are up here on the balcony, so I guess you can have a good look at those as well.

One of the most amazing things about the inside of the basilica is the atmosphere. Even if you are not a religious person, I guaurantee you will be awestruck by everything you will see. One thing that really struck me about the inside was the amount of space. It is enormous and wide, but the domes are so high up, it all makes for one truly colossal vessel. There are candles dotted around that create a quiet atmosphere.

I would recomment this to just about everyone. Maybe young children would find it more difficult to appreciate, but I honestly don't think many people could visit this place and not be affected by it somehow, even if like me, it's mostly the space, the ornateness and the brilliant architecture that you admire. Don't leave Venice without a visit! 

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