One of the most distinctive visual characteristics of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice are its five impressive domes. Keen observers of architecture will note that their form is rather distinctive as they are no the usual 'hemispherical' or oval/egg-shaped domes that are found on so many churches and other architecture. Instead these domes -- which in the case of San Marco, date to the thirteenth century -- are quote a bit more exaggerated. The best way I can think of to describe the particular shape of these distinctive domes is that between the dome itself and the drum upon which the dome rests a complete sphere could be placed within (not merely a portion of a sphere as in the case of so many other domes):
When viewed from ground level, this accentuates these domes by exaggerating their verticality.
It's difficult to know what the particular influences were on this shape, but the one thing that seems for certain is that Byzantine and Oriental influences were at work (as is so often the case in a place like Venice). This oriental influence can be particularly seen in the lanterns which sit on top of these domes of St. Mark's, having the distinctive onion like shape that we find in places such as Persia and other parts of the orient.
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| Detail of the lanterns of two of the domes of St. Mark's, Venice |
The Byzantine influences can certainly also be seen here. First an foremost, the lost church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. In the case of St. Mark's, it is thought this may have been the direct inspiration of these domes (and in point of fact, the treasury of San Marco even has a medieval censer that is fashioned after the same church):
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| Left: An illumination showing the Church of the Holy Apostles. Right: Censer in the shape of Holy Apostles in the treasury of San Marco. |
Looking elsewhere in the Byzantine world, if you look at some of the churches of Greece, one will certainly find a number of examples of similarly proportioned domes, though often in these instances the architect has given the drum the greater overall emphasis than the dome proper; regardless, the overall proportions remain similar.
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| Church of Panagia Kapnikarea, Athens. The focus here is specifically the dome on the left. While the drum is what has been accentuated here, one can easily see how if the architect had simply chosen to emphasize the dome structure over the drum, one would essentially end up with the domes of St. Mark's. |
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| The "Little Metropolis" Church in Athens similarly sports a dome and drum arrangement of this general shape, though once again with more emphasis on the drum |
Of course, Venice is filled with domes of this type. Here are just a few examples:
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice |
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| Santa Maria della Salute, Venice |
The church of San Simeon Piccolo has arguably one of the most iconic domes in all of Venice. It's dome borrows from this same overarching concept, though rather than being circular, like our other examples, it takes an ovular or egg-shaped form.
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| San Simeon Piccolo, Venice |
While Venice is almost without a double the 'capital' of this style of dome, it can be found elsewhere, most notably the Basilica di Sant'Antonio in Padua which is thought to have taken direct inspiration from St. Mark's in Venice -- though in a spirit of one-upmanship, it boasts seven such domes (not to mention a conical dome and two campanile).
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| Basilica di Sant'Antonio, Padua |
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| Basilica di Sant'Antonio, Padua |
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| Aerial view, Basilica di Sant'Antonio, Padua |
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