The Church of San Marco in Venice

AHIS4720OC: Between Byzantium and the Latin West: The Church of San Marco in Venice, ca. 829–1500. 3 Points.

Prerequisite: None

Instructor: Professor Holger A. Klein

This undergraduate seminar will explore the ducal chapel and state state church of San Marco in Venice in the context of the city’s medieval art and architecture. Built to house the body of the Evangelist St. Mark within the precinct of the ducal palace shortly after its translation from Alexandria in 828/29, the church of San Marco replaced an earlier ducal chapel dedicated to St. Theodore as the primary site of state ceremonies and soon developed into the most prominent shrine dedicated to the evangalist in Italy. Rebuilt and expanded several times between the first half of the ninth and the mid-eleventh centuries, the architecture of the church of San Marco was heavily indebted not only to Byzantine art and architectural traditions, but also to ceremonial traditions rooted in the Byzantine empire. Accordingly, this seminar will focus on Venetian perceptions of Byzantine art and culture from the time of the foundation of San Marco through the collapse of the Latin Empire of Constantinople in 1261 and beyond with a particular emphasis on the role of Venice as a cultural and artistic mediator between Byzantium and the medieval West. Emphasis will be placed on the function of Late Roman and Byzantine architectural spolia and saintly relics as markers of cultural and religious identity, the invention and visual manifestation of cult traditions, and changes in the sacred topography of San Marco as a result of Venice’s expansions on the mainland and in the Eastern Mediterranean following the conquest of Constantinople in 1204 and its struggles against rival city states, Genoa first among them.

To enroll in this course, you must apply to the Columbia in Venice program through the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE). Global Learning Scholarships available. Tuition charges apply.

Please note the program dates are different from the Summer Term A & B dates.