The Piazza, Forming An Oblong Rectangle, Is Arcaded On The Two
Long Sides, And Of The Two Short Ones, One
Presents a superb modern palace
built by Napoleon, and richly adorned with the statues of all the heathen
Gods on
The top, which Palace was usually occupied by Eugene Napoleon; the
other presents the church of St Marco and the old palace of Government,
where in the time of the Republic the Doge used to reside. The church of St
Mark is unique as a temple in Europe, for it is neither Grecian nor Gothic,
but in a style completely Oriental, from the singularity of its structure,
its many gilded cupolas and the variety of its exterior ornaments. At
first sight it appears a more striking object than either St Peter's in
Rome or St Paul's in London. On the top of the facade, which is singularly
picturesque, stand the four bronze horses which have been brought back from
Paris to their old residence.
I ascended the top of the facade in order to examine them. They are
beautifully formed, in very good cast and have not at all been damaged by
the journey. The Piazza is paved with broad flagged stones. The Doge's
palace is a vast building, very picturesque withal, and seems a melange
of Gothic and Moorish architecture. At right angles to it and facing the
Piazzetta, which issues from the Piazza and forms a quai to the Canale
Grande, stands the famous state prison and Ponte de 'Sospiri.
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