Piazza San Marco

The Saint Mark’s Basilica sits on what is Venice’s most important square. Like all major cities in the world. There is usually a large square for the people to walk about. Usually this was a result of old city or town layout, and thankfully a lot of them seem to have been preserved up until the modern era. The Piazza San Marco or Saint Mark’s Square is the main town square of Venice and this square stretches all the way to the lagoon of Venice. I have already seen numerous photos of the Piazza San Marco including the basilica itself to be able to recognize it almost immediately. Most of the human traffic seems to be near the Saint Mark’s Basilica, so the further you move away from the basilica, the more space you get. This has also the added benefit of being able to see most of the square.

The square is surrounded first by the Saint Mark’s Basilica on side and beautiful classical buildings on the rest of the sides. These buildings have mostly been turned into commercial enterprises such as a restaurant or a souvenir shop. You can still get a feel of being in Venice. The restaurants off to the side of the square play music. With the sound of violins in the air, it is not really difficult to be taken in by the atmosphere. That being said, Saint Mark’s Square is also a magnet for undesirable characters. Prior to visiting the square, I have read numerous stories about the proliferation of pickpockets in this part of Venice. Although I was very much mesmerized by the beauty of the place. I was very much aware of my surroundings and keeping away from other people as much as possible. I was also watching out for my compainions just in case. It is a bit disappointing that a visit to a place like this would be diminished by worrying about your stuff but I think that is the price of the popularity of this place. Thankfully, nothing untoward happened.

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