Religious and artistic sites of VeniceThe masterpieces of four visual artists, Bellini (1430-1516), Titian (1485-1576), Tintoretto (1518-1594), and Tiepolo (1696 -1770), dominate the religious and artistic sites present in the island city of Venice. The city is divided into six districts. Each contains historic sites, however, the most important are found in the neighborhoods of San Marco, San Polo and Dorsoduro which overlook the Grand Canal. Venice's artistic and religious sites are appreciated as part of the island's historical past, as well as rooted in its everyday present. A symbol of the importance of art in Venetian life is the Lion of Venice. The lion honors the patron saint of Venice, San Marco. He can be seen in many different poses, including a peaceful and playful stance, an impassive guard, a majestic and majestic lion or even a strong and warrior lion. The lion, like art and religion, reflects the spirit of Venice. District of San Marco Basilica of San Marco Since 830 AD the basilica has housed the bones of San Marco which were brought from Alexandria in Egypt and donated to the Port of Olivolo to the Doge Giustiniano Particiaco. The basilica's mosaics depict this event as bones hidden under pork barrels to keep Muslims away. San Marco was the patron saint of Alexandria and then became the patron saint of Venice. The coat of arms of the patron saint is the winged lion with the sword and a book with the words Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus, Peace to you, O Mark, my evangelist. The church was built with oriental inspiration with its oriental domes and shining mosaics. This is an example of the link between Venice and Byzantium, which protected Venice from Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire. The church contains four thousand square meters......middle of paper......the artistic sites of Venice leave an indelible memory in all who visit it.Works CitedCrivellari, Domenico and Maria Da Villa Urbani, eds. Basilica of San Marco. Prosecutor's Office of San Marco Venice. 2003. Girard-Sharp, Lisa et al. Venice. New York: APA Publications, 1999. Openshaw, Gene and Rick Steves, eds. Venice 2004. California: Avalon Travel, 2003. Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2003. Pioch, Nicolas. ?Titian.? WebMuseo, Paris. 2002. Pioch, Nicolas. ?Bellini.? WebMuseo, Paris. 2002. Rossi, Geraldo. ?The Tintoretto.? Catholic Encyclopedia. 2003.Steves, Rick. Italy 2002. California: Avalon Travel, 2002.