Piazzetta di San Marco

The death penalty used to be carried out between the two columns.

For Venetians, even today, it is a bad omen to walk through the columns. Instead, they prefer to walk around it.

Gambling was permitted in the space between the columns and this right was said to have been granted as a reward to the man who first raised the columns.

Across the water (the Bacino di San Marco, or Guidecca Canal) at the end of the Piazzetta can be seen the island of San Giorgio Maggiore and the white facade of Andrea Palladio’s church there.

St Mark and Theodore are a common theme in Venice. On the Fondaco dei Tedeschi side of the Rialto Bridge you will find the carved figures of St. Mark and St. Theodore.

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