Venice took St Mark as its patron in 828, when two merchants removed his body from Alexandria under a cargo of pork to deter inspection, and the city has marked his feast ever since. The modern observance is domestic rather than spectacular: a mass in the basilica, a gondola regatta on the Grand Canal between Sant'Elena and the Punta della Dogana, and the bòcolo — a single red rosebud given by every Venetian man to his wife, mother or lover.
No attendance figure applies; this is a city's own day rather than a ticketed event.
Two things to get right. The date is 25 April, fixed, and it is sometimes misfiled in March. And it coincides with the Festa della Liberazione, Italy's national holiday marking the end of the German occupation, which means public offices are shut and the Veneto is on the move.
PlanningFixed on 25 April — not March — and it shares the date with Italy's Liberation Day.