St Mark’s Basilica -crypt of the Gospel writer, Mark. First completed in 836 AD and then rebuilt in 1094, the Basilica is a wonderment of mosaic tiles floor to ceiling, and is also known as the Golden Church. Even in the darkened interior, the gold mosaic shimmers throughout. Just gorgeous. I copied this pic below because the drone shot captures the magnificence so much better than we could get from the ground floor.
A little crazy history…
In 828 AD, two merchants left for Alexandria to visit the sanctuary that at that time held the body of St. Mark. While there, they learned of rumors of demolishing the sanctuary. Wanting to preserve St. Mark’s body, they determined they would just steal it! They hid the body under pork because Alexandria, being an Islamic state, considered pork haram. This made for smooth entry out of the country.
The appropriated relic was temporarily kept in a chapel within the Doge’s Palace for two years before finding its home in the Basilica in 1071.
Cathedral of St. Tommaso Apostolo, Ortona, Italy
St. Thomas is remembered for bringing Christianity to India. In 52 AD, he was martyred there. As with the other Apostles, his relics traveled around quite a bit until finding there final resting place. Some of his relics remain in Chennai, India, close to where he died and was buried. His skull reportedly is on the Greek Island Chios. The majority of his remains made their way to Italy in 1258 after an Italian general visited Chios and had a spiritual experience. He essentially pilfered most of the Thomas’ remains. Since 1358 the relics have rested in this church and are displayed in the crypt we visited and offered thanksgiving.
