S4© Mis son’s Travels through the Book II, 
feveral Domes, among which, that in the Middle ex- 
ceeds the reft : It has a vaft Number of Statues on the 
Outftde, among which, the Adam and Eve^ by Ricedo, 
are chiefly remarkable : I don’t fpeaki, in this Place, of 
the four Brazen Horfes over the Porch, as being foreign 
Pieces brought thither by Accident* A certain learned 
Antiquary told me, that thefe Horfes belong’d formerly 
to the Chariot of the Sun, which was made as a Angular 
Ornament to a triumphal Arch eredted by the Roman 
Senate to the Honour of Nero, after his Vidlory over 
the Parlbians I Con^anlme the GrQa.t canned them from 
Rome to Condantinople, Where they flood in the Hippo- 
drome till the Venetians brought them from thence : One 
may ftill fee they were gilt, when firft eredled. But 
the greateft Curiofity belonging to the Church of Sc. 
Mark, is the vaft Quantity q{ M ofaick Work wherewith 
both the Roof and Pavement is cover’d. To give you 
fome Idea of this Work j it deduces its Origin from 
Greece, tho’ they tell you that its Ufe has been in Italp 
near two thoufand Years ; for Vitruvius (who liv’d under 
Augujius) calls it Opus fediile. Pavement a fediilia. Opera 
mi^cea and mufiva \ by others it is call’d Opus varnicula- 
tum or tejjalatum. All Works therefore compos’d of 
fmall inlaid Pieces, whether of Stone, Wood, Ivory, or 
any other Matter, let their Reprefentations be what they 
will, come within the Compafs of what is call’d Mofaick 
Work : The moft curious Works made out of Florence 
Stone, come alfo under this Denomination ; but inftead 
of natural Stones, which would take up too much Time 
to be polilh’d and prepar’d, they have made Ufe here 
of a certain Compofition of Glafs and Enamel, melted 
together in a Crucible, which takes a moft lively and 
bright Colour, that never fades nor ftains. Every 
Piece of the Mofaick of St. Mark is a little Cube ; the 
Eield is Mofaick finely gilt, and incorporated in the Fire, 
upon the Superficies ot one of the Faces of the Square, 
all the Figures (with their Draperies and Ornaments) 
being colour’d according to Nature, by the artificial 
joining together of all the Pieces of the Work, accord- 
ding to the Defign which the Workman has before 
him, being nicely fixed in the compound Matter or 
Plaifter prepared to receive them, which immediately 
after becomes fo hard and folid, that this Work has 
lafted near eight hundred and fifty Years without lofing 
any Thing of its Beauty. 
The Pavement of the Church Is not inferior to the Roof, 
being compofed of Jafper, Porphyry, fpotted-green. 
Marble of feveral Colours, which make Compartments 
different from each other. Among all the Relicks, mira- 
culous Images, and other holy Rarities kept here, I will 
mention only the Rock' which Mofes ftruck in the Wilder- 
nefs, in the Chapel of Madona della Scarpa, at the End of 
the Font, of a greyifh Marble ; the ’three Holes out of 
which the Water iffued, are placed triangular-wife, about 
two Inches afunder ; but as each of them is no bigger 
than a Goofe Quill, how thefe could furnilh Water fuf- 
ficient, in fo fmall a Time, to quench the Thirft of fix 
hundred thoufand Men, with their Wives, Children and 
Cattle, is what I am not able to determine. In the 
Middle of the Portico of the Church, over-againft the 
Door, they fliew a Piece of Porphyry enchas’d in the 
Pavement where Pope Alexander III. fet his Foot on the 
Neck of the Emperor Frederick Barbarofja. 
From the Church of St. Mark we were condufled to 
the Treafury, of which three Procurators of St. Mark are 
always Guardians, and which is never open’d but in the 
Prefence of one of them. In the firft Apartment they 
ihew you fome Relicks, feveral Pieces of the true Crofs, 
the Hair and Milk of the Virgins. Thence you go into 
another Room, where the real Treafure is kept, moft 
of which was brought from Condi antinople with the before 
mentioned brazen Horfes. The moft confiderable Pieces 
here, are the two Crowns of the Kingdoms of Cyprus and 
Candia, abundance of precious Vefiels of Agate, the 
Root of an Emerald and of Rock- Cryftal *, all thefe, 
they tell you, belong’d to Conftantine^s, Cupboard : A 
Seal eight Inches deep, and as many in Diameter, made 
of one Angle Granate a Saphyr weighing ten Ounces ; 
twelve CroOets of Gold, adorn’d with Pearls ; as many 
llead" tires irt Form of a Crown, worn upon certain 
Feftivals by the Maids of Flonour to the Emprefs Helen • 
a Cup made out of a Angle Turquoife, with E^yptimi 
Gharaaers; it is feven Inches Diameter, and thme and 
a half deep , a Piblure of Sr, ferome in curious M,o- 
faick ; and' many other rich Things of this Nature : But i 
the Duke’s^ Corno is, in my Opinion, the fineft Piece 
of all, (which Camerarius values at no more than two 
hundred thoufand Crowns) the Circle is of Gold, the i 
Bonnet of Crimfon Velvet, enrich’d all over with pre- I 
aous Stones and Pearls of a large Size : Charles Pafchal ■ 
IS m Opinion, that this Corno is the Phrygian Bonnet ! 
or Trojan Mitre brought into Italy by Antenor, the Fi- 
gure whereof is expreis’d in feveral ancient Pieces, as 
m the Statue of Ganymede, which is to be feen in the 
Porch m the Library of St. Mark, upon fome Medals 
a 7 fome others where JEneas carries 
Anchifes upon his Back, and m the Miniatures of the 
ancient Manufeript of Virgil in the Vatican. 
This Manufeript puts me in Mind of another, viz. 
^e fo much celebrated Gofpelof St. Mark, kept in this 
Treafury, which I had Leave, by a fpecial Favour, to 
conlider all over ; its Leaves are of Parchment loofen’d 
irc^ each other, very much worn and torn, defaced, 
^ m 5^ where-ever you touch it lomething 
will Itick to your Fingers ; it is very hard to difeern any 
thing diftindtly of it ; it was in Quarto, of the Thick- 
^Is or two Fingers, and the Remnants of this precious 
1 realure are kept Ihut up in a Box of Vermilion gilt, 
made in the Shape of a Book. Here and there you may 
itill dilcern the Traces of fome imperfedl Charadlers 
upon the moift Parchment, but fo as fcarce to be di- 
ftindlly feen what they were ; by a nice Inlpedfion I dif- 
cover’d three or four Letters well form’d, and met 
with the Word KATA diftindly written as you fee it 
here. The Abbot Lith, Labrary-keeper of St. Mark, 
alTifted me in turning over, with a great deal of Ex- 
adlnefs, all the Leaves, but could difeover nothing ma- 
terial, except that it had a very broad Margin, and the 
Lines were placed at a great Diftance from one ano- 
ther, rul d with two parallel Lines, to make the Wri- 
nng equal and ftreight. The before-mention’d Word 
KATA, with one a and one 2, which we alfo plainly 
difeern’d, prove that it is a Greek Manufeript ; Alphon- 
fus fays ’tis Latin, and Baronins confirms it ; but that 
it fhould be of St. MarVs own Hand-writing, I can’t 
find fufficient Reafbn to believe, being rather of Opi- 
nion, that (the Manner of Writing confider’d) it is the 
Work of fome profefied Tranfcriber ; and as for the 
reft, we muft rely upon Tradition and common Fame, 
that it is the Gofpel of St. Mark \ it being fo much 
defac’d by the Injuries of Time, that few Letters can 
be decypher’d in it, and conlequently it is a difficult 
Task to prove or difprove whether it really be, or not, 
what they pretend it is. 
In the Year 1427, one Stamati, a Candiot by Birth, 
robb’d this Trealury, and broke the Wall, but was ta- 
ken, and every thing recover’d, and he fentenc’d to be 
hang’d, which was executed accordingly betwixt the 
Marble Pillars which Hand at the Entrance of the Pa- 
lace over-againft the Lagietta : They fay, he begg’d 
of the Judges that he might be hang’d in a golden 
Haltar, which was granted. Next adjoining to the 
Church of St. Mark, is the Palace of St. Mark, a great 
Mafs of Building after the Gothick Manner, but never- 
thelefs very magnificent : It has been very often - 
defac’d by Fire, fo that the Reparations made at di- 
vers Times, have made it not fo uniform as it would be 
otherwife. That Part which faces the Canal, is built 
of a very hard Kind of Stone brought from Iftria, 
and excellently well defign’d j were all the reft like 
this, it might pafs for an exquifite Piece of Architec- 
ture ; as it is, it is very venerable. It is in this Place 
that the Duke keeps his conftant Refidence ; and here 
it is that the Council of State and the other AlTem- 
blies meet. The Apartments are Ipacious and lofty 
enough, and well wainfeotted, but want Light in re- 
fpect to our modern Way of Building. 
The Hall appointed for the Meeting of the Great 
Council (where, in Effefb, the Sovereignty is lodg’d) 
is of a large Size, and adorn’d with curious Painting ; 
here 
