Photos of the Beautiful St Marks Basilica Mosaic Art

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Photos of the Beautiful St Marks Basilica Mosaic Art, Venice Italy. Fabulous Basilica of Saint Mark Byzantine style mosaics . Photos by photographer Paul E Williams.  (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Beautiful St Marks Basilica Mosaic Art, Venice Italy

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Photos of the St Mark’s Basilica Venice (Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), Italy.

Saint Mark’s Basilica stands at the end of the Piazza San Marco next to the Doges Palace in Venice. The opulence of its design and ornamentation stands as a testament to the ambitions and wealth of Venetian Republic.

The lower facade of Saint Mark’s Basilica is made up of medieval relief sculptures and columns looted from Constantinople by Doge Enrico Dandolo and the 4th Crusade in 1204.

The Design of St Mark’s Basilica

St Mark’s Basilica was modelled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. It has cruciform plan with five domes. At the eastern end is an apse with a high semi domed ceiling.

Mosaic Interior

The whole of the 8000 square meter interior of the Basilica is decorated with gold Byzantine style mosaics dating from the 11th century.

Christ Pantcrator

In the apse above the main altar is a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator. Christ’s right had is making the Greek Orthodox Chi Rho blessing sign. His Thumb is touching his third finger and two forefingers are outstretched. This makes the shape of of the Greek letters Chi Rho one of the earliest forms of Christogram, and used by Emperor Constantine as a military standard. To see this blessing in a Roman Catholic church is unusual as it is not used by Catholic priests