ST. MARK'S BASILICA
THE INTERIOR
1) THE NARTHEX: formerly no more than a simple porch, the
Narthex was given its present shape and size during the
XII and perhaps early XIII cent.
2) THE MAIN
DOORWAY: the
apsidal doorway may be a relic of the earlier church on
the site. The staircase on the right leads to the
Galleries (where the original St.Mark's Horses are now housed) and to the Balconies
overlooking the Square.
3) THE DOME
OF THE PENTECOST.
4) THE
GREAT WEST ARCH.
5) THE
SOUTH TRANSEPT:
the part closest to the Palazzo Ducale, to
which the church is linked by a door, through which the
doge normally entered St.Mark's.
6) THE
TREASURY:
contains 283 items in gold, silver, glass and other
precious materials, the oldest of which were originally
booty taken from Constantinople during the IV Crusade
(1204). In 1797, at the fall of the Republic, many pieces
were destroyed or melted down.
7) THE DOME
OF THE ASCENSION:
is at the centre of the church over the intersection of
nave and transepts.
8) THE
CHANCEL:
(entrance from the South Transept through the Chapel of
St.Clement) is the area separated from the nave by the
Rood Screen, which is traditionally reserved for the
clergy during services. The doge also had a throne in the
Chancel.
9) THE PALA
D'ORO: is an
altar screen which was placed in its gilded silver frame
in the mid-XIV cent. under doge Andrea Dandolo. The
precious cloisonnè enamel panels and roundels were
probably all made in Byzantium at various times between
the X and XII cent.
10) THE
NORTH TRANSEPT:
The Nicopeia Madonna, a Byzantine ikon which Venetians
have always venerated, has been in its present position
since the altar was made in 1607. At the end of the
transept are the Chapel of St.Isidore and the Chapel of
the Mascoli.
11)
ST.PETER'S DOOR.
