The greatness of Venice has always been reflected in the richness of St. Mark’s Basilica, the perfect synthesis of Venetian art and a unique blend of Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic elements. Five Oriental-looking domes crown the shadowy, mysterious interior gleaming with golden mosaics, coloured marbles, precious stones and pearls, and guarded by the four gilded bronze horses that stand proudly atop the central entrance. The glittering mosaics of the interior tell the story of St. Mark and episodes from the Bible.
We enter the Doge’s Palace, the highest achievement of Gothic architecture in Venice, through the Porta del Frumento (Corn Door) on the waterfront. The monumental complex was the symbol and center of the political and administrative life of the Serenissima.
At once the Doge’s residence, seat of government and court of justice and prisons, the Palace was for centuries the symbol of the wealth and power of the Venetian Republic.
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