Saint-Malo \sa n -ma-To\, Gulf of Gulf of the English Channel, France. Indenting the northern coast of Brittany, the gulf extends from the island of Brehat to the peninsula of Cotentin, Normandy. It includes the rocky islet of Mont-Saint-Michel. At low tide in spring and fall a huge tract of land is uncovered at the gulfs main port, Saint-Malo. The shore is lined with numerous small resorts.
Saint Mark's Basilica or San Marco Basilica Church in Venice built to house the remains of St. Mark. The basilica originally built for this purpose, begun in 829, was burned during a revolt in 976; the present structure, one of the most beautiful buildings in Europe, was completed
CARIBBEAN
SEA
Saint Lucia Channel
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Pigeon Island
Gros Islet*
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Grand Anse
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La Croix Maingot*
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Anse La Raye
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Londonderry/
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MARIA
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Saint Vincent Passage
& 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
in 1071. The plan is an Eastern symmetri¬ cal Greek cross (see church) surmounted by five domes. The design is distinctly Byzan¬ tine, and both Byzantine and Italian archi¬ tects and craftsmen probably worked on it.
The interior is decorated with mosaics on a gold background; the floor is of inlaid marble and glass. In the restricted light their colours glow fan¬ tastically. Over the centuries, the church has benefited richly from the addition of sculptures, mosaics, and ceremonial objects.
Saint Martin Dutch Sint Maarten Island, Leeward Isands, eastern West Indies. Located northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis, it covers an area of 33 sq mi (85 sq km). Discovered by Christopher Columbus, it was divided in 1648 between the French and the Dutch. The northern section of the island (20 sq mi [52 sq km]) is a dependency of the French overseas department of Guadeloupe; its chief town is Marigot (pop., 1990: 26,000). The island’s southern section (13 sq mi [34 sq km]) is administratively part of the Netherands Antilles; its main town is the island’s capital, Phil- ipsburg (pop., 1990: 32,000). The island’s economy is based on tourism.
Saint-Maurice \sa n -mo-'res\ River River, southern Quebec, Canada. It is 325 mi (523 km) long and a major tributary of the Saint Lawrence River, flowing south from Gouin Reservoir into the St. Lawrence at Trois Rivieres. It is a major logging river, serving large pulp and paper facto¬ ries at La Tuque, Grand-Mere, Shawinigan, and Trois Rivieres. Since 1900 it has also been a major source of hydroelectric power.
Saint Paul City (pop., 2000: 287,151), capital of Minnesota, U.S. It is in the eastern part of the state, on the Mississippi River just east of Minne¬ apolis, with which it forms the Twin Cities. In 1805 Zebulon Pike made an unofficial treaty there with the Dakota (Sioux) for possession of the region. First settled in 1838, it was known as Pig’s Eye until 1841, when a log chapel dedicated to St. Paul was built there. It became the capital of the Minnesota Territory in 1849 and of the state in 1858. It was important in the development of the upper Midwest because of its location on the Mis¬ sissippi and its rail links, which promoted its livestock market. It is a major transportation, commercial, and industrial centre with diversified manu¬ factures, including automobiles, electronic equipment, and food products. Educational institutions include Macalester and Concordia colleges.
Saint Paul River River, western Africa. Rising in southeastern Guinea, its upper reach forms part of the border between Guinea and Liberia. It enters Liberia north of Gbamga and discharges into the Atlantic Ocean after a southwesterly course of about 280 mi (450 km). Navigable for 18 mi (29 km) upstream, the river and its major tributaries drain much of Liberia and Guinea. Two arms of the river enclose Bushrod Island, site of the port of Monrovia.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Saint Paul's Cathedral ► Saint Vincent and the Grenadines I 1669
Saint Paul's Cathedral Cathedral of the Church of England in Lon¬ don. The present building is a domed church of great openness designed in a restrained style that combines elements of Neoclassical, Gothic, and Baroque architecture. It was designed by Christopher Wren and con¬ structed (1675-1710) of Portland stone. The building replaced Old St. Paul’s, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The interior is characterized by ironwork and woodcarving by master crafts workers. The majestic dome, set on a colonnaded drum, rises 365 ft (111 m). The superbly detailed cathedral that Wren built bears only a slight resemblance to the Classical-Gothic design that had been accepted; why this is so remains a mystery.
Saint Peter's Basilica Present church of St. Peter’s in Rome, begun by Pope Julius II in 1506 and completed in 1615. It is the church of the popes and one of the world’s largest churches. It was built to replace Old St. Peter’s, erected by Constantine over Peter’s traditional burial place. According to the original plan of Donato Bramante, it was to take the form of a Greek cross around a central dome. Successive architects, including Raphael, drew fresh plans after Bramante’s death, modifying the original Greek-cross plan to a Latin cross. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger returned to Bramante’s symmetrical plan. Michelangelo, who followed Sangallo, nearly completed the drum for the massive dome before his death. Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21) then insisted on a longitudinal plan for liturgical reasons and adopted the plan of Carlo Mademo (1556-1629), which extended the nave to the east. Gian Lorenzo Bernini added the ellip¬ tical piazza, lined by colonnades, that serves as the approach to the basilica. The interior is filled with Renaissance and Baroque masteipieces, including Michelangelo’s Pieta, Bernini’s baldachin, a statue of St. Longi¬ nus, the tomb of Urban VIII, and a bronze throne of St. Peter.
Saint Petersburg Russian Sankt-Peterburg Vsankt-,p y 3- t y or-'burk\ formerly (1914-24) Petrograd or (1924-91) Leningrad City (pop., 2002: 4,669,400) and port, northwestern Russia. Located on the delta of the Neva River where it enters the Gulf of Finland, it is Rus¬ sia’s second largest city after Moscow. Founded by Peter I (the Great) in 1703, it was the capital of the Russian Empire from 1712 to 1917. It was the scene of the Decembrist revolt in 1825 and the Bloody Sunday attack on workers in the Russian Revolution of 1905. The original centre of the Bolshevik revolution (see Russian Revolution of 1917), it lost its capital status to Moscow in 1918. In World War II it underwent a siege by Ger¬ man forces (September 1941-January 1944), during which hundreds of thousands of people died (see Siege of Leningrad). From 1990 a reform¬ ist city council and mayor helped swing the country from the control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. St. Petersburg is a cultural, edu¬ cational, and industrial centre and Russia’s largest seaport. Industries include engineering, printing, manufacturing, and shipbuilding. One of Europe’s most beautiful cities, it is strewn with canals and several hun¬ dred bridges; its many palaces, cathedrals, museums (including the Her¬ mitage), and historical monuments were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990.