Horses of Saint Mark

Uncommon card · No. 154688

The Horses of Saint Mark (Italian: Cavalli di San Marco), also known as the Triumphal Quadriga or the Horses of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, are a group of ancient bronze statues of four horses that originally formed part of a monument depicting a quadriga — a four-horse chariot used in chariot racing and Roman triumphs. The horses were placed on the façade, on the loggia above the porch, of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, northern Italy, after the sack of Constantinople in 1204. They remained there until they were looted by Napoleon in 1797, but were returned in his final defeat in 1815. The original sculptures have since been moved indoors for conservation, with replicas now occupying their former position on the loggia.

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