the dock. A smaller and newer Square was then built with the columns of San Marco and San Todaro, the city's patron saints, overlooking St. Mark's Basin. This alteration of the Square was accomplished over the course of one century in a process of adapting to the growing power and wealth of Venice. The present form of the piazza shows the work of many famous architects, including Sansovino, Longhena, Scamozzi, Rizzo, and Tirani ("History The Piazza").
The Piazza San Marco served as the showcase of the republic, ringing much attention to the city and drawing visitors from far and wide:
The basilica of St. Mark's, the Doge's Palace, and the public space itself received constant and lavish attention. The broad outline of this beloved ensemble had been confirmed by 1400. By then the canal called the Batario that ran west of the campanile had been filled in, and the church of S. Geminiano that straddled it had been taken down and rebuilt at the end of the extended square, across from St. Mark's. This three sided enclosure, the Piazza S. Marco proper, held the offices of the procurators of the basilica and a thirteenth century hospice along the south side. Loggias lined all three faces of the enclosure space which, with its long perspective toward St. Mark's, came close to a Roman forum focused toward its temple on the long axis (Kostof 472).
The Loggetta of the Campanile was completed in 1549. It is a combination of architec
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