Venice Author:Grant Allen Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: II BYZANTINE VENICE! ST. MARK'S F'"T"HE primitive patron of the town of Rivo Alto, and [ | of the Republic of the Venetians, was the martyr St. Theodore, w... more »hose ancient figure still tops one of the columns in the Piazzetta. A church dedicated to this ancient saint is said to have occupied (nearly) the site of St. Mark's before the 9th century. But in the year 819, (or 813,) when the seat of government of the Republic was fixed in Rivo Alto, the first Doge's Palace was built on the spot where its successor now stands, and a Ducal Chapel was erected beside it. This chapel was still in all probability dedicated to St. Theodore. The body of St. Mark, however, was then preserved at Alexandria; though, after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in 640, the church of St. Mark's in which it was kept was exposed to continual insults from the victorious infidel. In 829, the Khalif decided to destroy the church, for the sake of its marbles. Some Venetian merchants who happened to be then at Alexandria (a proof of the early maritime commerce of the town) succeeded in carrying off the body of the saint, and conveying it to Venice. On its arrival, it was received in state and housed in the Ducal Chapel; while, in order to show due honour to the Evangelist, St. Theodore was deposed from his place as patron, and St. Mark was made the tutelary saint of the Republic. The old church of St. Theodore was also destroyed, and a new church of St. Mark's, the predecessor of the present building, erected in its place. This first church was burnt down in 976, and with it, humanly speaking, the body of St. Mark; though itsmiraculous preservation and subsequent rediscovery are matters of history. Towards the close of the loth century, the existing edifice was begun after the fire : it continued to be er...« less