Alexander’s presence in Venice – Part 2, from Constantinople

Alexander is also featured on the north façade of the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. Here is a relief taken from Constantinople after the sack and looting by the Crusaders in 1204 together with the bronze horses that found a prominent place above the entrance to the Basilica. 

[Alexander lifted into the skies – from Engramma]

Looking at the photograph in the article published by Engramma, my thoughts immediately go back to a similar picture of Alexander in the Cathedral of Otranto in southern Italy where he is part of a huge mosaic floor created between 1163 and 1165 (see: Alexander’s presence in Magna Graecia). 

In the Venetian relief, Alexander is seated on a chariot, which is not clearly visible in Otranto's mosaic, pulled by winged griffins who lift him up into the skies. The motif is said to be very common in the 12^th-13^th century. 

Initially, the relief was not a decorative piece but a precious trophy like the famous bronze quadriga and other artifacts used to represent the transfer of the symbolic continuity from Constantinople to Venice. The ambition of the Venetian Doge was boundless as he strived to move in Alexander’s footsteps as ruler of the world. Nothing less …!

[Continue reading Alexander's presence in Venice - Part 3, the Pala d'Oro]