Republic of Venice Venice, at one with the sea, was being born. Agnello was succeeded by his son Giustiniano, who stole the remains of Saint Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, took them to Venice, and made him the republic's patron saint. According to tradition, Saint Mark was the founder of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. With the patriarch's flight to Grado after the Lombard invasion, the patriarchate split into two: one on the mainland, under the control of the Lomabrds and later the Franks, and the other in Grado on the lagoons and the areas under Byzantine control; this would later become the Patriarchate
San Rocco, Venice San Rocco, Venice The Church of Saint Roch () is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Roch in Venice, northern Italy. It was built between 1489 and 1508 by Bartolomeo Bon the Younger, but was substantially altered in 1725. The façade dates from 1765 to 1771, and was designed by Bernardino Maccarucci. The church is one of the Plague-churches built in Venice. St. Roch, whose relics rest in the church after their transfer from Voghera (trad. Montpellier), was declared a patron saint of the city in 1576. Every year, on his feast day (16 August), the Doge made a