Enclosed on three sides by stately buildings, the [V 003 / Piazza San Marco's] elegant outdoor cafes, orchestra podiums, sacred pigeons (which are said to descend from those released in the Pentecost ceremonies every year), and atmosphere have drawn famous, infamous and anonymous for centuries. A square unequalled anywhere in the world, its paving of [G 25 / trachyte] and [G 19 / Istrian] stone was laid in 1722 by Andrea Tirali. The Piazza is usually the first victim of the rising waters.
