St. Mark's Square, "the" Square for Venice - all other plazas are not called squares but are merely courtyards or centers. This is the main hub of the city were the large cathedral dedicated to and containing the remains of St. Mark stands, as well as major glamorous shops and restaurants and the main port for bus boats at the entrance to the lagoon. It was very fun and lively to visit, but, being college students with college budgets, we didn't tend to stick around the square much and used it more as a guidepost when navigating the place.
... a very large twenty-four hour clock with symbols of the zodiac. Smaller versions of this were scattered throughout the city as well.
...archways surrounding the piazza. 
...one neat thing about Venice, and all of Europe for that matter, is being able to go anywhere in public places and see so much art taking place right now. You just don't really see that in the states. 
This is what the square looked like when we got there that morning, and as Paolo kept talking, I kept noticing our path in the center getting smaller and smaller - I was literally watching the water level rise and close in on us. The patrolmen were in the process of setting up the temporary walking bridges as we heard our guide. Apparently, the reason this square floods so much and so easily is because of the drains. Not only is it so low and close to the water that the high tide waves wash up on it, but when it rains a lot, the drains get full and start pushing water from the rest of the city back up and onto the square. That's why for the most part, even though the city is fairly flat, only a few places tend to flood in heavy rains and high tide. It lasted for most of the day but by night had dried up enough to walk on the actual plaza again. 
...even the birds didn't seem to mind that much. Many we saw were practically just swimming in the square, even in the rain.
the flooded square... but no worries, all standard protocol for the flood control policeman with their wading boots and fluorescent yellow rain jackets. they had to keep blowing their whistles at people who kept stopping to take pictures (and for the record, i didn't stop - these are my friends pictures, lol).
...the instant walkways are actually always there, but when it's not flooded, the boards are stacked up and placed in the center to be used like benches - very convenient when eating a snack or waiting for the tour guide.
... another view of the flooded piazza, from up on top of the balcony of the church.
...we were out late one night when the square was nearly empty (though to be fair, it felt like this town died by 9:30). The lights reflecting on the water, some still remaining from the floods, just looked beautiful.
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