Venice: St. Mark's Square by sandra46
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Description
A view of St. Mark's Square from the lagoon. It's the only public space named 'piazza' (square) together with the Piazzetta (small square) you can see in the foreground: all the other 'squares' in Venice are named 'campo' (field). So it's the Square par excellence, and a show window of Venetian political life at the times of the Very Serene Republic of Venice. The Piazzetta di San Marco (St. Mark's Small Square) is an adjoining open space connecting the south side of the Piazza to the waterway of the lagoon. The Piazzetta lies between the Doge's Palace on the east and Jacopo Sansovino's Libreria which holds the Biblioteca Marciana on the west. Here you can see the eastern column , with a creature representing a winged lion — the Lion of Venice — which is the symbol of St Mark. This has a long history, probably starting as a winged lion-griffin on a monument to the god Sandon at Tarsus in Cilicia (Southern Turkey) about 300 BC. It was part of the booty from one of the episodes of the wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
Thanks for your kind comments.
Comments (43)
Hendesse
Beautiful shot and interesting informations.
icerian
I like this "piazza" very much. Many eyars ago I visited Venice (in Czech: Benatky) with my children. Thank you for sharing.
Thetis
Terrific picture! love the pov and crop
e-brink
Excellent styling - very interesting image.
Richardphotos
very ornate architecture and beautiful
bakapo
an amazing photo!
miwi
Klasse capture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
erlandpil
Wonderful capture erland
ia-du-lin
beautiful scene, beautiful capture.
AidanaWillowRaven
Amazing ...
jocko500
this is wonderful shot
danapommet
A delightful photo of the square and I like the gondola's in the foreground!
anahata.c
Again, more of the juxtapositions of history, and of course connections to much older traditions which are now mostly 'decorative' to most passersby. I learned early on that architecture plays the role, among many things, of historical and cultural encyclopedia, for a culture: It has so many "entries" which are small blurbs from a long sometimes vast history. (I began in art with architectural drawing/rendering, and I did preservation work here in the States.) The winged lion is a perfect example of the transformation; and of course your profession allows you to show us the many ancient connections of these elements, predating the purposes of the designers. (I know, in Christianity, that usurping pre-christian images, statuary, customs, etc, was highly common, as it is in many cultures; so the connection between a saint and a pre-christian capture is wholly expected. I don't know the history, however, so don't know if the designers of the column were aware of the origins of what they incorporated into their design. But I'm grateful, as always, that you give us the history with your images.) Photographically, this is a very frontal and full shot, marked by the beautiful boats as "visual entry". With all the tracery, windows, etc, rising up above the boat line into a white sky. The high key brings out the high-key of the facades. It's a beautiful piece. Lots of urban activity---visually---in the lowest portion, but it all gives way to that beautiful and iconic facade. And I like that you included the tower on our right---it breaks any symmetry (which is a good thing), and gives us the sense of strength that lies beyond the frame. A fine photograph, backed by your always illuminating history...