…or rectangular for that matter. St Mark’s Basilica is not exactly aligned with the square.
We found out by reading Secret Venice. There is a very small metal medallion under the arcade, opposite Sotoportego de l’Arco Celeste.
It is not easy to find , but after a careful search, we spotted it.
The medallion indicates the exact line of the basilica’s axis. If you stand on the medallion facing the basilica you can see the odd angle of the church.
I find little details like this fascinating. Secret Venice is full of great stuff like this. We walked around Venice for days with the book in hand, discovering all kinds of interesting things about this glorious city.
Click here, here and here for more secret finds…there will be more to come.
You could spend months maybe years in Venice and still keep discovering. Great book
By: Lyn on January 1, 2015
at 9:36 pm
I agree, Venice is a place you could easily spend years and still come up with new things to find.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 1, 2015
at 9:54 pm
Amazing details in that book. I have only started learning…Thank you Debra
By: margieinitaly on January 1, 2015
at 9:46 pm
It is a great book. We have really enjoyed using it and Secret Florence to discover interesting things.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 1, 2015
at 9:55 pm
It’s not only the details that such a book points you to but all the incidental things you spot along the way whilst looking for the ‘secrets’, isn’t it. I rather fancy myself in a fur-lined deer stalker with designer magnifying glass in hand:)
By: Jan on January 1, 2015
at 11:49 pm
You are exactly correct. We found all sorts of things while hunting down the secrets. When you walk slowly looking at everything for clues, you see much more than you otherwise would.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 2, 2015
at 3:58 am
I have never visited Venice but I imagine it’s a multi-layered city so I suspect it’s interesting and exciting to discover some of its hidden details.
By: Just Add Attitude on January 2, 2015
at 8:19 am
Venice is one of the most amazing places I have ever been to. I hope you go one day.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 2, 2015
at 12:20 pm
Love this! It feels as though Venice is in our back yard and yet you are right – she is a secret stranger whom I hardly know at all.
Happy travelling in 2015 Debra xcat
By: Catherine on January 2, 2015
at 2:16 pm
How lucky to have Venice in your back yard. I love it even when I am lost and frustrated in a back street somewhere or fighting crowds at Rialto. The more often I go, the more I like Venice.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 2, 2015
at 8:57 pm
One of my favourite spots in Italy. Perhaps the fact that in Italian we call it “piazza” from the Latin “platea” and in turn from the Geek “plateia” meaning an open place or a broad street used by the public, may explain why it’s shape may not be regular. Actually, St Mark’s features the “piazza” and the smaller adjoining ” piazzetta”, which explains its irregular shape…
By: Mulino Dominillo on January 2, 2015
at 7:47 pm
Siena has a beautiful shell shaped piazza and Greve in Chianti has an unusual triangular piazza…they come in all shapes and sizes. I wonder who put the tiny medallion in Piazz San Marco. I was with an architect who found this fascinating…that is his foot.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 2, 2015
at 9:00 pm
I find your information fascinating – nice to know that piazzas come in all shapes and sizes. I imagine you must have looked funny eyeing the ground intently to find that medallion. I wonder if other tourists noticed and tried to look, too?
By: Sandra Hoopmann on January 2, 2015
at 10:26 pm
I’m sure people were wondering why we were walking slowly in circles looking at the ground. Who would know it was there and why?
By: Debra Kolkka on January 2, 2015
at 10:49 pm
I enjoy your secret finds posts and learning about the hidden details behind some of these famous sites. I look forward to learning more “secrets.”
By: Jackie Cangro on January 3, 2015
at 2:42 am
I have a little collection from my last trip and there are lots more from Florence as well. I will buy Secret Tuscany before I return to Italy. I love these books.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 3, 2015
at 3:50 am
Great to know itt actually is a series of books! I’d better buy some before I cme over
Internet is playingupaain, apologies for the spelling
By: Nicolet on January 4, 2015
at 2:01 pm
I love little secrets like this! It makes things all that more magical 😀
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on January 4, 2015
at 10:03 am
I think so too. We had a great time searching for the secrets of Venice.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 4, 2015
at 9:40 pm
An interesting detail….thanks Deb. Yes, Venice is the best…..it’s crowded with lots and lots of tourists…but one can always find a quiet campo to just sit back and ‘be’ in! I certainly hope I visit again one day.
Ciao
Robyn
By: Paris Rendez-Vous and Beyond on January 7, 2015
at 9:36 am