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St.Mark's Square was called "the drawing room
of the world" by Musset. It has been the scene of some
of the most important religious and political activities
of the Serenissima as well as the center of Venetian social
life for almost a millennium. At first the Square was limited
to the parvis of the Basilica, because of the presence of
a canal, "Rio Batario", which divided the present
Square in two parts.
The part of the Square now between the Procuratie, was once
the vegetable garden of S.Zaccaria monastery with S.Geminiano
church in the middle. The present shape of the Square was
established in the XII century, for the meeting of Pope Alexander
III and the Emperor Barbarossa by filling in Rio Batario
and the dock.
A small new Square was built with the columns of S.Marco
and S.Todaro, the city's patron saints, overlooking St. Mark's
Basin. The alteration of the Square was all done over the
course of one century, adapting to the growing power and
wealth of Venice. The present form reflects the works of
many famous architects such as Sansovino, Longhena, Scamozzi,
Rizzo and Tirani.
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