This is how Napoleon called the most famous, and, in fact, the only square in Venice - Piazza di San Marco. But the view that opens up to a traveler arriving at the square from the side of the Venetian lagoon, and which is considered the hallmark of Venice, is not a view of Piazza, but of Piazzetta di San Marco (a small square between San Marco and the canal, which Italians usually call Piazzetta for short). – “Little Square”). In place of the Piazzetta, there was once an inner harbor, which was later filled up and turned into a square. This "Little Square" was repeatedly sung by poets and writers in their works, and the most famous artists captured it on their canvases.
The dominant feature of the Piazzetta is the 99-meter Campanile (bell tower) of St. Mark's Basilica, built in the 16th century. and served as a beacon for ships that entered the lagoon. The campanile is crowned with a pyramidal spire with a weather vane from the early 16th century.
depicting a golden angel. At the beginning of the twentieth century. due to wear, earthquakes and lightning strikes, the bell tower collapsed and was restored in 1912. From under the belfry, which can be reached by elevator, offers a magnificent view of the Venetian lagoon and the city itself.
The building of the Library of St. Mark is also located here, built in the period from 1537 to 1597 according to the project of the architect Jacopo Sansovino and won many enthusiastic praises from contemporaries and descendants. In honor of its creator, the library is often called Libreria Sansoviniana.
Opposite you can see the magnificently recognizable facade of the building of the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) - a monument of Italian Gothic architecture and the main building of all Venice. The rulers of Venice lived here, the Grand Council, the Senate and the Supreme Court met. From the balcony overlooking the bay from the Great Council Hall, the Doge personally greeted the guests arriving in Venice. : ))
In the depths of the square, you can see the Clock Tower, or the Tower of the Moors, built in the 15th century. in the style of the Renaissance. It has a watch face made of gold and blue enamel. Above the clock, in a niche, there is a statue of the Virgin, and above it - a Venetian winged lion. The clock of the tower is astronomical, by which you can find out the hour, season, lunar phase, the transition of the Sun into constellations. Time is beaten off by two dark bronze figurines, which have darkened so much in 500 years that they were nicknamed the Moors. One Moor, personifying the past, strikes the bell five minutes before the hour, and the second, personifying the future, five minutes after.
From the side of the canal, two massive granite columns were installed on the Piazzetta, brought from Byzantium in 1172 (they brought three, but drowned one when unloading); )). The top of one of the columns is decorated with a statue of St. Theodore, who was considered the patron saint of Venice before St. Mark became one.
Interestingly, the figure is composed of two parts - a marble head of the Hellenistic king Pontus Mithridates VI (I century BC) was hoisted on the Roman torso of the time of Emperor Hadrian (II century).
On the other column is a statue of a winged lion, which has become a symbol of the city. According to one version, the statue was remade from a Persian chimera, to which wings were attached. In 1797, Napoleon I deposed the last Doge, removed from the column and transported to Paris the symbol of the power of Venice - the lion of St. Mark. The lion stood for some time in Paris in front of the Les Invalides, and later, by decision of the Congress of Vienna, he was returned to Venice. During transportation from Paris to Venice, the ancient sculpture broke and fell into 84 pieces, from which the modern statue was melted down, turning it into a structure made of fragments of bronze, lead and brass, fastened together with bolts and numerous seams.
In the "original" only the left hind leg, right thigh, wavy mane and a whole head have survived to this day. : )
Executions were carried out between the columns in medieval Venice. In particular, the famous architect Filippo Calendario, one of the creators of the Doge's Palace, was hanged at this place. Therefore, it is still considered a bad omen to enter the Piazzetta between these columns. Keep this in mind when stepping on ancient stones and recklessly rushing to sightseeing! ; ))
The dominant feature of the Piazzetta is the 99-meter Campanile (bell tower) of St. Mark's Basilica, built in the 16th century. and served as a beacon for ships that entered the lagoon. The campanile is crowned with a pyramidal spire with a weather vane from the early 16th century.
depicting a golden angel. At the beginning of the twentieth century. due to wear, earthquakes and lightning strikes, the bell tower collapsed and was restored in 1912. From under the belfry, which can be reached by elevator, offers a magnificent view of the Venetian lagoon and the city itself.
The building of the Library of St. Mark is also located here, built in the period from 1537 to 1597 according to the project of the architect Jacopo Sansovino and won many enthusiastic praises from contemporaries and descendants. In honor of its creator, the library is often called Libreria Sansoviniana.
Opposite you can see the magnificently recognizable facade of the building of the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) - a monument of Italian Gothic architecture and the main building of all Venice. The rulers of Venice lived here, the Grand Council, the Senate and the Supreme Court met. From the balcony overlooking the bay from the Great Council Hall, the Doge personally greeted the guests arriving in Venice. : ))
In the depths of the square, you can see the Clock Tower, or the Tower of the Moors, built in the 15th century. in the style of the Renaissance. It has a watch face made of gold and blue enamel. Above the clock, in a niche, there is a statue of the Virgin, and above it - a Venetian winged lion. The clock of the tower is astronomical, by which you can find out the hour, season, lunar phase, the transition of the Sun into constellations. Time is beaten off by two dark bronze figurines, which have darkened so much in 500 years that they were nicknamed the Moors. One Moor, personifying the past, strikes the bell five minutes before the hour, and the second, personifying the future, five minutes after.
From the side of the canal, two massive granite columns were installed on the Piazzetta, brought from Byzantium in 1172 (they brought three, but drowned one when unloading); )). The top of one of the columns is decorated with a statue of St. Theodore, who was considered the patron saint of Venice before St. Mark became one.
Interestingly, the figure is composed of two parts - a marble head of the Hellenistic king Pontus Mithridates VI (I century BC) was hoisted on the Roman torso of the time of Emperor Hadrian (II century).
On the other column is a statue of a winged lion, which has become a symbol of the city. According to one version, the statue was remade from a Persian chimera, to which wings were attached. In 1797, Napoleon I deposed the last Doge, removed from the column and transported to Paris the symbol of the power of Venice - the lion of St. Mark. The lion stood for some time in Paris in front of the Les Invalides, and later, by decision of the Congress of Vienna, he was returned to Venice. During transportation from Paris to Venice, the ancient sculpture broke and fell into 84 pieces, from which the modern statue was melted down, turning it into a structure made of fragments of bronze, lead and brass, fastened together with bolts and numerous seams.
In the "original" only the left hind leg, right thigh, wavy mane and a whole head have survived to this day. : )
Executions were carried out between the columns in medieval Venice. In particular, the famous architect Filippo Calendario, one of the creators of the Doge's Palace, was hanged at this place. Therefore, it is still considered a bad omen to enter the Piazzetta between these columns. Keep this in mind when stepping on ancient stones and recklessly rushing to sightseeing! ; ))
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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