The winged lion with a book is the symbol of Saint Mark. It is everywhere you look in Venice. The book (in this case) reads “PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEUS” or “Peace be with you, Mark, my Evangelist.” This quote is drawn from the myth of the Praedestinatio, the second part being the prophecy, “Here (in Venice) your body will rest.”
A “Mission impossible” caper
I’ve been thinking about the swashbuckling heist of Saint Mark’s remains for much of this week. The source of this incredible story is an Italian legend, often called the translatio. You can find my recent rumination on these matters here and here.
The short of it is this: Venice swiped the body of the Evangelist from Alexandria, Egypt. It was a 9th-century Mission: Impossible style caper, executed ostensibly to save the holy remains from destruction. In truth, the heist was a calculated effort to boost the city's geopolitical and religious prestige. Possessing the body of St Mark legitimized Venice as a major spiritual capital, outmaneuvered rival Italian city-states, and effectively "upgraded" its patron saint to unify its people. (I realize this political maneuvering is probably not the high romance you were hoping for!)
Of course, one can read about this medieval caper in the historical literature.* But did you know it is also vividly illustrated on the lunettes above the doors of the Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark's) in Venice?
I stand in the Piazza San Marco facing the Basilica. Five portals, topped by lunettes, give access to the square.
Morning Light at the Basilica
I stand in the middle of Venice’s Piazza San Marco to take it all in. The sun follows the trajectory suggested by the pointed spires of St Mark’s. As I squint into the morning light, the entire structure appears backlit, a dark outline interrupted only by gold flashes from the rooftop.
In front of me, at ground level, are five ornate portals framed in marble and topped by lunettes.** The symmetry is pleasing: four portals of equal size flank a center entrance that is wider and taller.
A lunette (French for “little moon”) is a crescent or half-moon architectural feature sitting above a doorway. On grand church buildings, lunettes were often lavishly decorated to set a tone for worshippers or to affirm the cultural identity of the city. Both are true here.
Stories Told in Gold and Stone
The artwork on these lunettes does not come from a single hand. Instead, it represents the work of generations of artists spanning over 600 years. Every piece is executed in a mosaic style. These are not painted images, but are constellations of tesserae—tiny blocks and bits of colored stones, tiles, glass, and real 24-karat gold leaf pressed into the plaster. Each of the five portals features a primary image on the central lunette, surrounded by smaller flanking images on the curved surfaces that surround it.
The story reads like cartoon panels from right to left. We pause to read it.
The first lunette: The Abduction from Alexandria
The first lunette: The Abduction from Alexandria. Right: Sad-eyed monks watch as the body is wrapped and carried out of its tomb in Alexandria. Center: the basket is opened, to the great disgust of the Muslim inspectors. Left: the merchants rope the basket closed for transport on the ship.
On the far right is the first panel of the translatio. Here we see the shrewd merchants carrying out the body of St Mark, loading it in a basket, and tricking the customs officers. The panel is slightly comedic: as the merchants lift the basket lid to reveal its contents—layers of pork flesh (and cabbages)—the customs officials hold their noses, recoil in disgust, and likely shout “Kanzia, Kanzia!" (‘Pork, Pork!”). They have no idea what is really inside.
Art history note: Specialists believe these scenes were created in the year 1660 by local artist Pietro della Vecchia.
The second lunette: The Arrival by Sea
The Arrival by Sea. Left: Sailors shoulder the coffin from the ship that has just arrived in the port of Venice. Right: prominent Venetian figures solemnly receive the relics.
In the second panel, the ship has safely docked in Venice. The travelers have successfully arrived with their prize from Alexandria. They shoulder the coffin and carefully carry it into the city, where they are met and enthusiastically welcomed by clerics, city officials, and the chief magistrate—the Doge (who appears just offscreen to the right).
Art history note: Like first lunette, these images are the work of Pietro della Vecchia.
The third, or middle, lunette: The Last Judgement
The third, or middle, lunette: The Last Judgement.
The middle portal is larger than the other four and serves as the primary entrance to the basilica. Because of its architectural priority, the artwork here steps outside the St Mark saga to depict the Last Judgment.
Christ, bearing his cross, appears as the focal point and ultimate victor. He is flanked on the left by Mary and on the right by John the Baptist, surrounded by angels. The figures on the lower left are shown worshipping and cheering, while those on the lower right are attempting to hide.
Art history note: This work is the latest of the set. It was executed in 1836 by a team of artists, led by Lattanzio Querena.
The fourth lunette: The Venetians officially welcome and worship the relics
The fourth lunette: The Chief Magistrate (Doge) and the Venetian government officially welcome and worship the relics.
In the fourth lunette, we return to the translatio. St Mark is stretched out, covered reverently in a blue cloth, with a glowing halo crowning his head. Clerics, officials, and other adorants gather around. The central figure, dressed in gold with a grey cape gestures toward the body. This is likely the Venetian Doge.
Intriguingly, it has also been suggested that one of the turbaned figures on the far left (and gesturing from afar?) represents the caliph whose original threats prompted the need to “rescue” the body in the first place.
Overhead, Latin inscriptions describe the scene: “They mark the body of Saint Mark with a cross” and “they rejoiced when the body is received.”
Art history note: These panels were completed in 1728 and are attributed to the design of Sebastiano Ricci.
The fifth lunette: The Final Resting Place
The fifth lunette: The body of St Mark is carried into the newly built church.
The final lunette of the translatio shows the accomplishment of the deed. It depicts the moment when the body of St Mark was carried into the basilica door (note the image detail below).
The Latin inscription stretching along the rim of the image reads: “The people place him [here] with worthy praises and reverence him with hymns, so that he may forever guard his Venetians from the enemy.” This text gives voice to the early lagoon-settlement's deep-seated anxieties regarding 13th-century enemies and highlights the "talisman theology" associated with owning the body of a saint.
Art history note: The value of this image is not just in the completion of the narrative cycle, but in the date of execution and the architectural structure it presents. This mosaic is the oldest of the set, believe to date to 1260-1270. The figures are much more stiff and formal than in the other panels, hinting at its great age. The artist is unknown. It offers a rare view to the how the basilica appeared before the addition of Gothic modifications.
Detail of the fifth panel: the body of St Mark is carried into the church door on the shoulders of priests. Christ watches from the pictured lunette above.
By including the turbaned antagonist to the final triumph, the mosaic set cunningly transforms a controversial heist into a story of divine justice, political vindication, and fulfilled prophecy. Ultimately, this illustrated “mission impossible” caper reminds the viewer that Venice didn't just outsmart its rivals, it altered its own destiny under the watchful eye of God (and their newly acquired saint!).
*An accessible presentation of the foundation story of Venice may be found in David Rosand’s work, Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2001). Follow the link here to find the text of this volume online.
**This term, lunette, is a general one, used to describe the decorated half-moon panels above doors or windows. If deep and massive enough, a lunette may be called a tympanum. Lunettes and tympana are common features found in Romanesque- and Gothic-styled architecture.
We plan to be back in Venice next year, May 13-22, 2027. Seats are available. To learn more about our “Taste of Italy” or other tours with Bible Land Explorer, follow the link here.
We have room for you.
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