Venice, Italy
We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
—Luciano De Crescenzo (1928–), Italian writer, filmmaker, and engineer
Once called Chiesa d’Oro (Church of Gold) because of its gilded Byzantine mosaics and status as a chapel to the ruling Venetians, this magnificent five-domed Gothic cathedral has long been a symbol of wealth and power. However, the multitudes who flock here to worship or to wed speak more to its holiness and sacred beauty.
Built to safeguard the relics of the Evangelist Saint Mark, Saint Mark’s Basilica dominates Piazza San Marco (San Marco Square), where the Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs statue anchors the church’s southwest corner. Among the basilica’s many treasures, the statue represents the interdependence of the four rulers of the Roman Empire.
Whether you wish to sanctify your romantic relationship or your love for the Divine, go to Saint Mark’s Basilica. Fly to Venice Marco Polo Airport, and then take a bus, taxi, or ferry to the island.
Visit between 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. if you want to see the mosaics illuminated. Pray with (or for) someone you love.
Saint Mark’s Basilica, consecrated in A.D. 1094, is the seat of the Venetian archbishop and the third church built on the site. The first was in A.D. 828, when San Marco’s body was supposedly found in a pillar in Alexandria and brought to Venice. The golden pillar Pala d’Oro is enshrined behind the high altar.