Artist:
unkown artist
Title:
Wingend Lion in memory of Count Piero Foscari
Year:
1797
Adress:
Campiello Gore
www.waymarking.com:
A sculpted engraving of a winged lion can be found on the Arsenale's main rampart on Campiello Gore, hidden from most tourists but just a stone's throw away from the main entrance of the Arsenale (one of Venice's main attractions).
The winged lion is a traditional symbol in Venice, symbolizing St. Mark the Evangelist, the city's Patron Saint ever since his remains were taken from a tomb in Alexandria (Egypt) and brought to Venice back in 828 AD.
Depictions of St. Mark's winged lion can be found everywhere in Venice: there is a one on the clock tower in the Piazza San Marco, another atop a column outside the Palazzo Ducale, and other representations everywhere throughout the city -- even including the main entrance of the Arsenale itself! This particular lion sculpture -- hidden from the view of most tourists visiting the area -- is just one of many examples.
The lion of Venice is usually depicted with its paw on an open book that contains the text"Pax tibi, Marce, Evangelista meus", which means"Peace be upon you, O Mark, my Evangelist" in Latin. Venetian legend has it that, while visiting the region of Italy that would later become Veneto, Mark was approached by an angel, greeted with those words, and told that the Venetian lagoon would be his ultimate resting place. The actual story is most likely as described above, with the Venetians taking it upon themselves to fulfill the angel's prophecy (which they probably wrote themselves, too).
The engraving below this particular Winged Lion reads:
"In memory of Count Piero Foscari for public display. This lion was placed here in place of what was chiselled [back] in 1797 (1925)".
A sculpted engraving of a winged lion can be found on the Arsenale's main rampart on Campiello Gore, hidden from most tourists but just a stone's throw away from the main entrance of the Arsenale (one of Venice's main attractions).
The winged lion is a traditional symbol in Venice, symbolizing St. Mark the Evangelist, the city's Patron Saint ever since his remains were taken from a tomb in Alexandria (Egypt) and brought to Venice back in 828 AD.
Depictions of St. Mark's winged lion can be found everywhere in Venice: there is a one on the clock tower in the Piazza San Marco, another atop a column outside the Palazzo Ducale, and other representations everywhere throughout the city -- even including the main entrance of the Arsenale itself! This particular lion sculpture -- hidden from the view of most tourists visiting the area -- is just one of many examples.
The lion of Venice is usually depicted with its paw on an open book that contains the text"Pax tibi, Marce, Evangelista meus", which means"Peace be upon you, O Mark, my Evangelist" in Latin. Venetian legend has it that, while visiting the region of Italy that would later become Veneto, Mark was approached by an angel, greeted with those words, and told that the Venetian lagoon would be his ultimate resting place. The actual story is most likely as described above, with the Venetians taking it upon themselves to fulfill the angel's prophecy (which they probably wrote themselves, too).
The engraving below this particular Winged Lion reads:
"In memory of Count Piero Foscari for public display. This lion was placed here in place of what was chiselled [back] in 1797 (1925)".