S. Marco

Department Archive
Collection Byzantine Research Fund
Reference No. BRF/01/05/01/013
Level Item
Place Venice
Dates November 1889
Donor/Creator Weir Schultz, Mr Robert
Barnsley, Mr Sidney Howard
Scope and Content Plan of upper pulpit. This is a preliminary drawing. It is dated in ink in the middle. Further annotation in ink survives.
Further information The basilica of San Marco (consecrated in 1084/5 or 1093/95) which was modelled on the Constantinopolitan church of the Holy Apostles, is today preserved in excellent condition. Five domes, a central dome and four secondary ones above the arms of the cross, dominate the architecture of the building. A P-shaped narthex covered by cross-vaults is attached to the west. A series of colonnades give the impression of a three-aisled interior. Marble revetments and lavish mosaics dating between the late 11th and the 13th c. underline the splendour of the building’s decoration and architecture. One of the bronze doors of the monument is a gift by Alexios Komnenos while the four horses of the façade are copies of Byzantine originals (now in the Vatican) which were looted during the 1204 siege of Constantinople.