The Procuratoria of St. Mark's Basilica

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The Procuratoria of St. Mark's Basilica

The ancient name of Procuratoria of St. Mark was given to the vestry-board of St. Mark's cathedral basilica with a Royal Decree dated July 9, 1931. Its duties are the protection, maintenance and repairs of the basilica, bell tower and their pertinences. Indeed, the Procurators of St. Mark constituted one of the most important magistracies of the state up until the fall of the Republic of Venice (1797).

The Procurators of St. Mark de supra dealt with the administration of the assets owned by St. Mark's church and the protection of the church.
The present Procuratoria council is made up of seven Procurators, from among whom the chairman is chosen, called the prime Procurator.
The Procurators choose an engineer or architect, called the foreman of St. Mark, to whom management of the technical services is entrusted. He has specific duties relating to the respectful preservation of the buildings and their single parts through use of the most suitable means that engineering makes available, in conformity with the religion's needs and the provisions of the ecclesiastic authorities.
The foreman is assisted by other professionals for all the tasks and activities of the office: an engineer, two architects and a building surveyor.
The Mosaic Office reports to technical services management. It is in charge of the preservation and repairs of the mosaic surface while keeping the old tradition typical of St. Mark's alive. Also under technical services management is a team of restorers who work on maintaining St. Mark's buildings and their movables. The Procuratoria keeps a 19th-20th century archive of documents and photographs, and also has a library specifically pertaining to St. Mark's Basilica.
All administrative personnel, caretakers and security guards are employed by the Procuratoria.

Members of the current Procuratoria Council are: Giorgio Orsoni (prime Procurator), Antonio Meneguolo, Antonio Niero, Irene Favaretto, Giovanni Candiani, Giovanni Mazzacurati and Dino Sesani.
St. Mark's Proto (foreman): Ettore Vio.