The Basilica of Saint Mark

Előszó

ST. MARK'S, THE CHURCH OF THE DOGÉ AND OF THE GOVERNMENT OF VEN1CE The basilica of 'St. Mark, which houses the remains of the Evangelist, rose shortiy after the year 1000, the epoch of Communes and of great Cathedrals. St. Mark's was not, however, merely an important cathedral of the time, but alsó a building having the privilege of assembling the iprinciples of authority and the seals of a State so singular as was the Venetian Republic for about 1000 years. It was the church of the Dogé, of the one, that is, who presided over the Government of Venice, the church of the Procurators, the ministers, all the magistrates and all the subjects of the Most Serene Republic, on land or overseas. The Dogé was proclaimed publicly in St. Mark's church in his reserved tribüné, and rights with hieratical prerogatives of Byzantine origin were lodged in him, by whic'h religious sanction was conferred upon his political authority. The Most'Serene Republic held in great honour all rituals in the strictly religious sense which were iperformed in the basilica of St. Mark. Certain principles of civil and political order were not extraneous to this cult, according to the rules of an ancient tradition which strengthened them in the most adverse moments. As church of the State, St. MaHk's, then, welcomed certain official ceremonies of the Republic; from the election of the Dogé to investitures of extreme importance. Here the Dogé blessed soldiers leaving for war; here were exposed the colours won from the enemy, as we can see in a bizarre painting by Francesco Guardi, in which the spaces are enlarged beyond measure, between the vaults, the domes, the succession of arches and the escutcheons of patrician families. Even money was minted in the image of St. Mark. On the sequin, the official coin of the Republic, the Dogé in office is always to be seen kneeling at the feet of St. Mark, and the Saint guarantees his personal intercession on behalf of the city. Juridical and diplomatic aspects were blended in the name of St. Matfk on patriotic/religious ideals. These ideals were reflected in the symbols on the flags of St. Mark, and that of the lion with the open Gospel, which is the most prestigious image of the Republic in every part of the Venetian Dominion. The basilica had had the singular privilege of centralizing these symbols, ma'king them >its own, being their mátrix, handing down the memory from one generation to another by a spiritual link which was maintained intact through the centuries. The basilica of St. Mahk forms an integrál part of both the Ducal Palace and St. Mark's Square: in the Ducal Palace was the seat of the most important magistracies of the State; in the Square the people participated wholly in the life of the Republic, attende'd the promulgation of the laws and sentences, the ceremonies and festivals together with the entire Signory. The Square gives an idea of the ancient átrium of the paieochristian churc'hes; its function was ever that of convening the citizens, ma'king them participate in public affairs. St. Mark's is the fruit of the State's patrimony, hence it was conceived as an unusual structure compared with other epis- Vissza