Venice - St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco) is one of my favorite churches that I've seen. The inside is at beautiful as the outside. The gold mosaic on the ceiling of the inside - throughout the entire church - is amazing! The domes are also quite stunning -- each with its own story being told.

Mom, Aunt Gail, and I went upstairs and it was a nice walk around one side. We also went out onto the terrace for lovely views of the square below and even looking out to the main canal. When I came to Venice with my family 6 years ago, we didn't go inside St. Mark's because we were in the city during The Feast of the Redeemer (quite the celebration!) and the line was incredibly long. While inside the basilica this time, I kept thinking how much my dad would enjoy seeing this. (Dad, next time you're here!)

The Four Horses of St. Mark's 

(the original ones are found inside, in the museum that is within the basilica)

Looking out from the side of the basilica, along the side of Doge's Palace and out to the main canal:

The Bridge of Sighs:

The Bridge of Sighs is quite a famous piece of Venice. Prisoners would cross this enclosed bridge from Doge's Palace as they being sent to the prison. The view out of the windows from this bridge was the last view of Venice that they saw before imprisonment. Read more about the Bridge of Sighs here.