St. Mark's Basilica

Saint Mark, the author of the Book of Mark in the Bible, is now laid to rest in Venice.  The Basilica of Saint Mark's was built to house his relics.  He originally was buried in Egypt, but in 828 AD his relics were stolen and brought to Venice.  They remain in the Basilica to this day.  The church was burned in 976 and the current basilica was built in 1063.  

When we have visited St. Mark's Basilica we have purchased the full experience of the basilica, Pala d'Oro, and the Museum Loggia Cavalli.  You have to purchase tickets to the Campanile separately.  The complete ticket costs 30 euro for one adult.  Entrances begin at 9:30 in the morning and the last entrance is at 3 p.m.  The reason I wanted to include the museum in my trip is so that I could go out on the terrace to see the beautiful view of St. Mark's Square, and also see the Four Horses of St. Mark's.  The original horses are inside the museum, but duplicates of the horses are out on the terrace where they can be seen from St. Mark's Square.

The official website for St. Mark's Basilica is here:  St. Mark's Basilica

To reach St. Mark's Square from the Grand Canal, take the San Marco Vallaresso vaporetto exit.  Its google maps location is here:  St. Mark's Square

The Four Horses of St. Marks on the Loggia

My daughter and I outside the Basilica

The basilica was under construction when we were there in March 2025

The original Four Horses which are housed inside the museum

These horses are duplicates of the originals

View of St. Mark's Square

Notice the Moors ringing the bell on the clocktower

The horses and the Campanile in the background

The Winged Lion of Venice at the entrance to St. Mark's Square

St. Mark's Basilica at night

My daughter and I ate lunch at one of the cafes on St. Mark's Square.  You can see the Basilica in the background.

Looking down from the Campanile at the top of St. Mark's Basilica (on the right) and the clocktower

View from the Campanile, with the Campanile's shadow on St. Mark's Square -- the Basilica is on the far right.

Here is a scene from the movie Inferno on St. Mark's Square:  Inferno on St. Mark's