San Marco Hotels
It may have started life as little more than a monastery garden crossed by a stream, but St Mark’s Square has long been the political and religious heart of Venice. Non the less, the first thing to say about it is that is that it isn’t really a square. If you look eastward across it from in front of the Correr Museum, you'll notice that it opens wider at the Basilica end, creating the illusion that it's even larger than it is.
Called “the world's most beautiful drawing room” by Napoleon when he entered Venice in 1797, the Square has been the backdrop for magnificent processions celebrating victorious commanders, visiting dignitaries and festivals. The glittering Basilica and Doge’s Palace command the eastern end. On one side, the long, arcaded building is the Procuratie Vecchie, built in the early 16th century as offices and residences for the powerful procurators (or magistrates) of San Marco. On the other is the Procuratie Nuove, built half a century later in a more grandiose classical style.