by Marco Bona Castellotti
Among the furnishings of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, the ciborium is the most visible piece, yet it often goes unnoticed. As visitors parade before the Pala d'Oro (the Basilica's high altar), they walk past it without paying much attention to that sort of cross-vaulted canopy, which houses the main altar with the Pala d'Oro and is supported by four marble columns that are completely covered with sculptures.
In the upper part, it is adorned with beautiful green Thessaly marble slabs, carefully selected for their iridescent shades of blue. Even more overlooked by visitors is its pinnacle, where four well-rounded statues of Evangelists and the resurrected Savior -- a Renaissance piece by Antonio Lombardo -- are seated.
Fonte: Italy24
