- This is a big panorama: 1024 pixels, for those with 1024 screens. St Mark's square is big and deserves a big picture.
- The rest of us use arrow keys to scroll across the image <- ->.
- Keep reading, the picture will take a while to download, then press the thumbnail to see the big version.
At aqua alta (high tide in a flood) this square needs duck boards to negotiate the water.
The five domed church at the far end is Basilica San Marco. From 1063 until 1807, it was the private chapel of the Doge (Big Boss of Venice). It is now the Cathedral for Venice. (Roman Catholic Cathedral - this is Italy, not England). Only a tiny part of the Doge's Palace is visible, between the Campanile and the Procuratie Nuove, on the right.
The Campanile is the brick tower vanishing off the top of the picture. It started life as a light house (1173) and was restored in the 16th century until it finally collapsed in 1902. The only victim was the custodian's cat. It was reopened in 1912 as a bell tower.
The clock on the left is undergoing restoration (1998). A painting of the Torre dell'Oroglio has been hung in front of the scaffolding so that tourist's cannot tell the difference, or at least they cannot tell the time. Come to think of it, the face is so complicated, it is hard to tell the time even when it is not covered by the painting.
Further to the left is Quadri's cafe in the long Procuratie Vecchie building. You can see the outdoor tables. It is too hot for many Englishmen, who prefer the shade on the right where Florian's cafe is found. Byron, Dickens and Proust are said to have frequented Florian's. Both cafes have outdoor live musicians, but the square is so big they do not interfere with each other. The Procuratie Vecchie is perfectly straight and not curved. The deformity is caused by the rotating lens panorama camera mapping onto a curved film plane.
Notice that the very tall pigeon to left middle has a woman's black suited body. The young people singing in the right group are not worried by the official cafe musicians, who are too far away to be heard much.
Copyright, John Wattie. The JPEG compression is too severe for quality printing, so if you want to publish any of these images apply to the author for a decent version.
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Irmingard's photographs of the Carnival of Venice: http://www.CarnivalofVenice2k.com
