Places
The domes and mosaic-filled arches of St Mark’s Basilica, with visitors in the square.
The west front. Photo: Nino Barbieri, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Place · Cathedral

St Mark’s Basilica

The cathedral of the Patriarch of Venice, holding the relics of St Mark the Evangelist; until 1797 the chapel of the Doge.

Location
Venice, Italy
Building
Cathedral (patriarchal see since 1807); formerly the Doge’s chapel
Tradition
Roman Catholic
Religious use
In use as the cathedral of the Patriarchate of Venice.
Official website
St Mark’s Basilica

Map Building location: Apple Maps · Google Maps — the building, not a confirmed visitor entrance.

Dedicated to St Mark, the city’s patron, whose relics it holds, the basilica was the state church of the Venetian Republic and is modelled on the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

In the Atlas

Each paragraph says whether it is documented history, a tradition handed down, or disputed.

  • Documented

    The present building, the third church on the site, was probably begun in 1063. Its walls were faced with marble and precious stones over time, chiefly in the thirteenth century, and many columns and sculptures were taken from Constantinople.

  • Documented

    Until the fall of the Republic in 1797 it was the Doge’s chapel. It became the cathedral of the Patriarch of Venice in 1807, replacing San Pietro di Castello.

Reference draft. The statements were checked against the general reference sources below, read in a build session (Wikipedia at a recorded revision, and Wikidata). They have not yet been checked against scholarly or primary sources.

  • Reference work · Read in a build session

    St Mark's Basilica — Wikipedia (English)

    Read on 28 Oct 2026 at revision 1381900048, fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/places/st-marks-basilica/wikipedia.txt). A general reference work, not a scholarly source; the statements here were checked against it.

  • Reference work · Read in a build session

    Wikidata item Q172988 (St Mark's Basilica) — Wikidata

    Read on 28 Oct 2026: instance of, religion, diocese, coordinates and official website.