Piazza San Marco, a Fascinating Meeting Point in Venice

Steeped as Venice is in the rich colours of Renaissance art, one of the most vibrant points of ancient culture in the city is the Piazza San Marco.

The Piazza is much more than a public square and in fact an entire day can be spent in just observing the many sights from the square. One of the most imposing views from the Piazza is that of the Basilica di San Marco, ancient cathedral exhibiting some of the most striking aspects of Venetian architecture.

Another delightful sight from the Piazza is the Doge’s Palace which is also known as the Palazzo Ducale di Venzia and now houses works of master painters like Titian, Tinteretto, Veronese and others. Among the other wonderful sights to be viewed from the Piazza are the romantically-named Bridge of Sighs and the imposing bell tower of Campanile.

The ancient Piazza San Marco of Venice dates back to the 9th century when it was just a bit of open space outside the Basilica. But in the latter half of the 12th century it was enlarged and reshaped into the now familiar three-sided area and soon evolved into a public space where the rich and ordinary, the rulers and the ruled met and mingled. Even today the Piazza is one of the few public squares in Europe which is at once painted with hues of history and rocks to the rhythms of the present.