The Virgin and the Evangelist: Venice's Saintly Protectors

As the patron saints of the city, Saint Mark and the Virgin Mary stood at the very center of Venetian

identity. The Venetians claimed that while evangelizing in northeastern Italy, Mark received an angelic

description of the great city that would arise in his honor. The Venetians’ theft of Mark’s remains in the

early ninth century seemed the fulfilment of that prophecy. At the same time, the Venetians believed that

their city was founded on March 25, 421, the feast of the Annunciation. In this way, they argued that

Venice enjoyed a special association with Mary and developed the idea that theirs was a `virgin’ city,