Piazza San Marco (often known in English as St Mark's Square), is the principal public square of Venice. The Piazzetta ("little Piazza") is an extension of the Piazza towards the lagoon in its south east corner. The two spaces together form the social, religious and political centre of Venice and are commonly considered together.
The Piazza San Marco, a vast paved and arcaded square, lies before the five arched portals of St. Mark's Basilica. The northern and southern wings of the square are formed by two official buildings, the Procuratie Vecchie (Old Procurators' Offices), built by Mauro Codussi (1490s) and the Procuratie Nuove (New Procurators' Offices), built by 1586 by Vincenzo Scamozzi and Baldassare Longhena (between 1586 and 1640). At the basilica end of the Old Procurators' building stands the Clock Tower, built by Mauro Codussi in the 1490s. The Clock Tower rises over the entrance to the Merceria, the main shopping street leading to the Rialto, and stands in a direct line of sight to the columns on the Molo, at the end of the Piazzetta.
The northern and southern wings of the square are connected with the Napoelonic wing, built in the 1810s by Giuseppe Maria Soli.
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