|
Venice, symbolized by its graceful gondolas, was for centuries the queen of commerce between Europe and the Orient and the defender of Christendom against the thrust of Turkish expansion. Its narrow streets and waterways open suddenly upon the expanse of great canals and magnificent domed churches like San Giorgio Maggiore, located on an island in the Canal of St. Mark, opposite the city's major landmark, Piazza San Marco, with its famous basilica. Built between 1566 and 1580 as part of the Benedictine monastery on the island, the church's facade is scaled to present a public face to the town of Venice. It dominates and partially obscures the brick body of the church behind it, while it reflects the interior space of the nave and its side chapels. The dome has a diameter of 40 feet, and the church, cloisters, and refectory of San Giorgio Maggiore were among Andrea Palladio's most important projects. The present campanile replaced one which collapsed in 1773.
| 
Western Europe
