What to see in St. Mark's Square, heart and artistic jewel of Venice

Every big city in the world has a square that becomes the great center of attraction for tourists.

En Beijing we can refer to the Tiananmen Square, And in Paris to Concorde Square.

In the case of your trip to VeniceFrom the beginning you are clear about that great tourist center is undoubtedly the St. Mark's Square, where you want to go as soon as you arrive in this beautiful Italian city.

La St. Mark's Square, you have seen it countless times in photos, but you will be eager to feel it as soon as possible, see its atmosphere and enjoy its beauty.

And I can tell you that it is even much more spectacular and beautiful than you can imagine.

Since the famous square is located in the southern part of the city, just opposite the road or train entrance to Venice, to get to it you will have to travel practically all of it.

How to go to St. Mark's Square

When you go to the St. Mark's Square, and the first thing you have done has been to stay at your hotel in Venice, depending on its location, from there you may possibly be able to get there by wandering through the narrow streets and canals.

If you arrive on a cruise ship, the boat transfer that you will surely hire will take you directly to the vaporetto stop in said square.

But if you arrive directly to the city by car or train, or your hotel is located right at the entrance, in the districts of Santa Croce o CannaregioWithout a doubt, the most advisable thing is take a vaporetto to take you through Great channel until the aforementioned stop San Marcos.

In these cases you will see that said vaporetto stop is next to the St. Mark's piazzetta, a small square that connects San Marcos with the Grand Canal of Venice.

If you stand with your back to the lagoon, in front of you you will find the most important monuments of this Jewel of Humanity which is the city of Venice.

La St. Mark's Square in Venice it has its origin in the XNUMXth century, but then the current large square was separated from the Doge's Palace by a canal.

In the 11th century it was decided to cover the canal, which formed its current configuration.

In the 1711th century it was paved, and in XNUMX it was paved again.

La St. Mark's Square has been, since its creation, the center of city life, hosting all the important events of the Republic of Venice.

Nowadays it will become the center of attention of your trip to Venice, well you will surely spend a lot of time visiting and enjoying its monuments.

Monuments and places to see in St. Mark's Square

Below I am going to detail which are the monuments and corners that you can see during your walk through St. Mark's Square, based on the experience of our trips to the city of canals.

Columns of San Marcos and San Teodoro

As I have mentioned, you will access the square through this other small square adjacent to the seashore, where the two huge granite columns, known as columns of San Marcos and San Teodoro.

Located in that location in the 12th century, they were originally brought from Constantinople.

They are easy to identify because two totally different sculptures are located on their Veneto-Byzantine style capitals.

Vista from St. Mark's Basilica, on the left is the St. Mark's Column, with the Winged Lion of Saint Mark, whose bronze piece dates back to the 4th or 5th century.

El Winged Lion We will see it in different sculptures of monuments in the city, since it is the symbol of venice.

To the right is the Column of Saint Theodore, with a marble sculpture that represents said saint at the top of it, which is the Venice city pattern.

Of course, the sculpture of the column is a copy of the original that is found in the courtyard of the neighboring Doge's Palace.

When we walk through the columns of San Marcos and San Teodoro, we must know that they have had a long role in the history of the city of Venice, because during the Middle Ages That was the place where the public scaffold was installed.

Campanile Tower, old lighthouse of Venice

As you head towards the square, your attention will be drawn to the Campanile Tower, or Campanario, where I tell you that it is worth climbing.

From there you have the best panoramic views that you will be able to see of Venice and the lagoon that surrounds the city.

Its origin dates back to the year 1173, when a lighthouse for sailors was built, although the current structure dates from the XNUMXth century.

Here you have complete information for climb and visit the Campanile Tower.

Doge's Palace, former seat of the Republic of Venice

to the right of the piazzeta Do you have the Ducal Palace, which was the headquarters of Government of the Republic of Venice, courthouse and residence of Doge.

Here you have a complete article with all the information you need to know to visit the Doge's Palace in Venice.

St. Mark's Basilica, the great Byzantine jewel

Next to the palace, and as the main axis of this great square you have the St Mark's Basilica.

The current Venice cathedral that will catch your attention for its five enormous domes and its mix of western and eastern styles, a great architectural jewel that stands out for its decorations with Byzantine mosaics and marble.

Here you have all the information for visit St. Mark's Basilica during your trip to Venice.

In front of the basilica is where you can best see that, in reality, this architectural complex is not a square plaza, but rather two adjoining L-shaped plazas, the largest one, a large porticoed plaza, and the aforementioned small square, with access to the lagoon.

Clock Tower in San Marcos

Known as the Orologio Tower, that's what it's called astronomical clock that you can see on one side of the St Mark's Basilica.

This Renaissance style tower is also known as the Tower of the Moors for the two bronze figures that come out every hour to ring the bell.

The building rises above the arch that leads to one of the most popular shopping streets in Venice, the Haberdashery Street.

Astronomical clock in the Torre dell Orologio

El astronomical clock of the Clock Tower It is a true work of engineering built in the 15th century.

Externally it shows us a beautiful blue and gold enamel sphere, the sight of which you will not tire of enjoying, which was designed with the aim of being visible to sailors.

The golden outer ring shows the hours in Roman numerals, and the inner ring shows the signs of the zodiac.

Above the astronomical clock is a sculpture of the Virgin and Child.

The figures of the Three Wise Men and an angel with a trumpet at the beginning came out every hour before the sculpture of the Virgin, but currently they only appear on very specific dates.

On top of the Orologio Tower one will also catch your attention sculpture with the Winged Lion, which you already know is the symbol of the city of Venice.

Florian and Quadri, historic cafes in St. Mark's Square

But in addition to monuments, in this enormous arcaded square you also find other interesting corners that you will have the opportunity to discover.

The specific objectives of the Florian coffee It is the oldest in Italy, as it was founded in 1720 and, today, it still maintains the characteristic decoration of an XNUMXth century cafe.

In turn, the Cafe Quadri It dates back to 1775, and as in Florian, throughout its history it has passed through numerous illustrious characters.

Café Quadri is said to have been visited, for example, by Lord Byron, Balzac, Marcel Proust, Alexandre Dumas y Richard Wagner.

Here you have more information about these historic cafes of Venice.