Venice, 828 AD. The city was growing fast — rich from trade, building a fleet, becoming a real power in the Mediterranean. But it had a problem. Its patron saint was Theodore, a Greek soldier-saint that nobody outside the church cared much about. If Venice wanted to stand alongside Rome and Constantinople, it needed a bigger name. And two Venetian merchants trading in Alexandria, Egypt — Buono da Malamocco and Rustico da Torcello — decided they knew exactly where to find one.
0%
Tricksters & Folk Tales·2/3·1′
The place
Venice — St. Mark's Basilica & Doge's Palace
The Theft of St. Mark's Body
How two merchants smuggled a saint under pork and changed a city's destiny forever
9th century (828 AD)Venice — St. Mark's Basilica & Doge's Palace
Moral of the Story
“One bold move can define a city forever — and the story you tell about where you came from ends up shaping where you go.”
Characters
B
Buono da MalamoccoR
Rustico da TorcelloS
St. Mark the EvangelistS
Stauracio (Greek monk)T
Teodoro (Greek monk)D
Doge Giustiniano PartecipazioSource
Translatio Sancti Marci (9th century account); Norwich, John Julius. A History of Venice, 1982; Brown, Patricia Fortini. Venice and Antiquity, 1996