The Piazza San Marco, one of the most famous and instantly recognizable townscapes in the West, if not the world, has been described as a stage set, as Europe's drawing room, as a painter's canvas. This book traces the changing shape and function of the piazza, from its beginnings in the ninth century to its present day ubiquity in the Venetian, European, as well as global imagination.

Through its long history, the Piazza San Marco has functioned as civic space that was used for such varied activities as public meetings; animal-baiting; executions; state processions; meat and produce markets; a performance venue for rock concerts; as well as, more recently, a cafe to enjoy a leisurely Campari. Constantly alert to the question of function, this book recreates not only rituals of the past but also activities of the present, from the coronation of the doge to the legendary Pink Floyd concert of 1989, with much fanfare in between. Iain Fenlon recreates the dynamic, colorful, and noisy history of the piazza--a history that is also the history of Venice and, indeed, of Europe.

Author: Iain Fenlon
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 11/19/2012
Series: Wonders of the World #43
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 6.90h x 4.30w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780674066069

About the Author
Iain Fenlon is Professor of Historical Musicology at Cambridge University.