Built in the 12th century and still looking much as it did then, this remarkable Romanesque church is one of the oldest in the Venetian Lagoon. A marble "carpet" and a dazzling golden apse mosaic place it alongside San Marco and Torcello in an exclusive club of beautiful Byzantine-influenced basilicas.
Exterior
Murano's basilica (adult/child €3.50/1.50) is unusual in that its rear is more richly decorated than the facade. It particularly stands out in a city where facades often look like elaborate stage sets attached to plain brick structures. However, this church follows the ancient Christian tradition and is oriented towards the rising sun, leaving its eastern end facing the canal – and in Venice, it's always the canal aspect that matters most.
Mosaics
The relative plainness of the facade makes the sight when you step through the door even more dazzling. A sweet-faced Byzantine Madonna greets you from the golden mosaic above the altar, robed in the deepest shade of blue and with palms raised in prayer.
Between you and her, the entire floor is covered in an intricate mosaic of multicolored marbles and stones such as porphyry and serpentine. Geometric shapes swirl around mosaic peacocks, birds of prey, gryphons and what appears to be a loved-up pair of crickets sheltering beneath a flower. It's all deeply symbolic, and a handy information panel helps to decode its mysteries.
