PIAZZA SAN MARCO, VENICE

Piazza San Marco is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as "the Piazza". All other urban spaces in the city are called "campi". 

Piazza San Marco was constructed in the 9th century as a small square dotted with trees. The square was laid out in front of the

original St. Mark's Basilica, at the time a small chapel which was part of the Doge's Palace.

The square was separated from the palace by a small canal, the Rio Batario. Already a central gathering place for Venetians, the piazza was enlarged in 1174 after the canal and an adjoining dock were filled in. The square became paved with bricks in 1267 in a herringbone pattern. In 1735 the bricks were replaced with natural stone and laid in a more complicated pattern according to a design devised by architect Andrea Tirali. The design marked the location where

     As the largest square in the city and the only one given the designation of "piazza" (the others are all referred to as "campi"), St. Mark's Square has always been the location of important government buildings and other facilities central to the goings on in Venice.

Venetian Pigeons

Feeding Pigeons

Besides being filled with people and great specimens of architecture, Piazza San Marco is also full of pigeons. Pigeons have long been a problem in the square but only recently did the city pass a law that banned the feeding of these birds. The pigeons have caused much damage to the delicate mosaics on St. Mark's Basilica and to other buildings around the piazza. Several attempts have been made to control the pigeon population but few have been even slightly successful.