St. Mark's Basilica Audio Guide | Venice

Duration

45 min

Itineraries

2

Languages

8

Type

Indoor

St. Mark's Basilica isn't just Venice's most famous church: it's a Byzantine museum you explore on foot, where every dome and every wall tells eight centuries of Venetian history. The audio itinerary guides you through 12 stops, from the western facade to the Loggia of the Horses, no booking and no live guide required. At the centre of the nave, the Dome of the Ascension dominates the space with its 13-metre diameter, entirely covered in Byzantine golden mosaics made between the late 11th and early 12th century: at the centre, Christ lifted by a host of angels, surrounded by the apostles and the Virgin in prayer, an iconographic language that came straight from Constantinople. Behind the main altar, the Pala d'Oro is one of the absolute masterpieces of medieval European goldsmithing: an altarpiece of about 250 cloisonne enamels, gold, pearls, rubies and sapphires, begun on commission of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos and enriched in 1209 by the Venetian goldsmith Michele Giambono with the loot from the sack of Constantinople. Climbing to the Loggia, you'll meet the replicas of the legendary Horses of St. Mark: four ancient bronzes (2nd century BC - 3rd century AD) looted from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, taken to Paris by Napoleon in 1797, returned in 1815 and now kept indoors to protect them, with copies standing guard on the facade. Petrarch described them like this: "they seem to neigh and strike the ground, as if alive." The audioguide tells the story of these and seven other stops on the itinerary (Central Portal, Narthex, Iconostasis, Presbytery, Treasury and the chapels of Saint Isidore and the Madonna dei Mascoli) in 45 minutes, at your own pace. A version for children is also available. All it takes is 4 euros and a pair of earphones: no app to download, no queue for equipment rental.

What makes the visit special

• The Dome of the Ascension: 13 metres of Byzantine golden mosaics, an 11th-12th century masterpiece
• The Pala d'Oro: 250 enamels and gems behind the altar, commissioned by a Byzantine emperor and enriched with the sack of Constantinople
• The Horses of St. Mark: looted Roman bronzes, exiled to Paris by Napoleon, home again since 1815

What's included

• Professional audio guide
• GPS route map
• Languages (8)
• Instant access after purchase

Itineraries

St. Mark's Basilica - Complete Itinerary

45 min

The Secrets of Saint Mark's - For Children

45 min

Frequently asked questions