It was the first European cathedral I had ever seen.
In Venice, the floors in St. Mark's Basilica are a riotous tapestry of mosaics. Each individual piece is a unique slice of marble, carted long ago on wagons and barges from every marble quarry imaginable.
From the moment you walk in, it's impossible not to follow your feet, tracing the floral, geometric and heavenly designs splayed across the floors of the cathedral. Those poor masons. It dizzied me, thinking of how many hours of labour, aching shoulders, and strained eyes in this dark, cavernous work space it took to produce such artistry.
