Every day, St Marks Square is the meeting piace and destination for thousands of visi tors. In summer and on special occasiona such as the Carnival, there are so many peopie converging on the square that one might begin to doubt its attraction. It is advisable to avoid the "drawing room" of Venice at such times: the early hours of the morning and evening, the spring and autumn when the colours and the sounds are crisp and clear, are infinitely preferable.
Each person's impression of St Mark's is unique, so much so that painters, photographers and writers have only ever managed to convey a snippet of the square's subtle, even sublime nature.
With the dawning of each day,St Mark's Square comes alive. Beyond the columns of St Mark and St Theodore, the gondolas and vaporettos come and go while noisy crowds gather around the hotly contested souvenir stalls. Almost every language can be heard as the tourists follow their tour guide's raised umbrella into the basilica or loiter under the porticoes, bewitched by windows of passementerie and sparkling jewellery and glass. Small groupsf of musicians play to the habitu�s of the legendary caf�s, while vendors of bird feed continue to attract flocks of people and pigeons, by_ selling tokens of good luck.
The centuries do not appear to ' have left their indellible mark on ' the square; however, if one could journey back through time, it ' would be just as busy in the 14C. ' The passing of the hours, since ' time immemorial, is still ceremoniously sounded by the Moors on , the clock tower and the mighty , belis of the campanile. The vast trapezoidal space (176m/ , 577ft in length, 82m/269ft maximum width) is enclosed on the ', north side by the Procuratie Vecchie and by the later 16C Procuratie Nuove opposite. In between, ', the neo-Classical Napoleon Wing ' or Ala nuovissima was built in accordance with the wishes of ' Emperor Bonaparte after the ' demolition in the early 1800s of ' the 16C Sansovino Church of San Geminiano.
In the arcaded portico of the Procuratie Vecchie is the Caff� Quadri, which was founded by Giorgio Quadri in 1775 to serve Turkish coffee.
Opposite, on the other side of the piazza, is the older Caff� Florian, also named after its first proprietor, Floriano Francesconi, which was opened in 1720. Its most renowned previous habitu�s have included the playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707-93) and the neo-Classical sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822). The harmonious symphony of architecture, colour and light that epitomises Venice, even in the mind's eye of those who have never set foot in the piace, is epitomised in the area which comprises St Mark's Square and the Piazzetta.