VENICE, SAINT MARK’S: THE GOLDEN ALTARPIECE SAVED…

St. Mark’s Basilica houses the precious Pala d’Oro, a majestic Byzantine goldwork piece created in the 10th century. Its creation required a highly refined artistic enamel decoration technique known as cloisonné.

 

<<…sottili fili (filigrane) o listelli o piccoli tramezzi metallici (di solito rame), celle o alveoli (detti in francese cloisons), vengono saldati o incollati ad una lastra di supporto dell'opera da costruire; successivamente quindi, nelle zone rilevate dal metallo, viene colato dello smalto, ottenendo quindi una sorta di mosaico le cui tessere sono circoscritte esattamente dai listelli metallici...>> (https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloisonn%C3%A9)

 

Over time, the Pala d’Oro was gradually embellished until its completion in the 14th century;

The structure, located above the main altar of the Basilica, is in the Gothic style and crafted from silver and gold, measuring 334 x 212 cm. It features numerous sacred images, with Christ at the center surrounded by the Evangelists, flanked by prophets, apostles, and archangels, and framed by scenes from the life of Saint Mark. But the feature that leaves everyone dazzled is the vast quantity of pearls, enamels, and precious stones it contains:

…for a total of 1, 927 gems!

Given this unique feature, it is surprising that the altarpiece has survived to this day without being stolen.

Tradition has it that, in fact, there was a particular moment in history when the Pala d’Oro was in serious danger:

 

Napoleon, who found himself face to face with her during the invasion, was deceived by a typically Venetian linguistic “trick” that allowed her to be saved;

“It’s all true!” the Venetians told the Emperor… without stopping to think that the Italian word“VERO”also means“GLASS”in the Venetiandialect…

Fortunately, Napoleon realized that the piece was made entirely of glass (and therefore worthless) and left it where it was, taking other valuables back to France instead.

 

Thanks to this dialectal misunderstanding , the Pala d’Oro was saved, granting us the privilege of still being able to admire it in its beautiful original “home.”

  

We would like to thank the following sources for the information provided and invite you to explore the topic further:

 

 

 

Photo credits:

 

Detail of the Pala d’Oro

Ph: Prof. Mortel, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Golden Altarpiece

Ph: Keete 37, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Photo of St. Mark's Basilica

Photo 178344546 © Andrés Membrive / Dreamstime.com

 

Photos of Venice

Photo 60427863 © Rudi1976 / Dreamstime.com