Basilica di San Marco, Venice.Image by byungjei Lim from Pixabay

St. Mark’s Festival of Venice, Italy, or Festa di San Marco, is an important religious feast of the city’s beloved patron, Saint Mark, who perished on April 25, 68 A.D. Saint Mark was one of Christ’s disciples and the author of the Gospel of Mark.

828 years ago, two Venetian merchants, called Buono da Malamocco and Rustico da Torcello, smuggled Saint Mark’s remains over to Venice bypassing Turkish inspections. They hid the relics within a stock of pork meat. Turkish customs officials were disgusted by the smell of pork. Hence, the wise merchants’ ploy was never uncovered.
 
Under two winged lions, the body of Saint Mark was adulated and became exalted as the Patron Saint of Venice, as his evangelical contributions to the city’s residents were immense and caused waves of gratitude from Venetians as well as all of Italy, if not many across continents.
 
Under the Serenissima rules, Venetians and Italians would celebrate St. Mark on the 31 st of January, whereas June 25 was the day the relic was finally transported to St. Mark’s Basilica. Dies translatinis corporis refers to the day of the transport of the Holy Body. Over time, Venice would come to celebrate their patron, Saint Mark, only April 25.

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