St Mark’s winged lion: a symbol of Venice and its complications

Statues and paintings representing St Mark’s winged lion will surround you pretty much when you visit Venice. Switching from a religious connotation linked to the Evangelist St Mark to the political representation of the Doge’s Republic of Venice, the winged lion is a constant presence. 

How an exotic animal could become the symbol of a city like Venice where you would never see a real lion is a very fascinating story which I will be happy to tell you when you visit. 

However, what is even more intriguing is the mysterious origin of the most famous statue of the winged lion in Venice. I am talking about the one on top of the granite column facing the waterfront in St Mark’s square. A huge bronze statue, around 4 meters long and weighing 2,800 kilos. A true well-written international enigma which was just reopened a few days ago at a conference held in Venice.

Photos and 3D reconstructions and videoclips can be found at this link:

https://beniculturali.regione.veneto.it/xway-front/application/crv/engine/crv.jsp?verbo=queryplain&view=@completa&query=(%5bser_gen%5d=%22CRV-RA_0016319%22)

The winged lion on top of the column in St Mark’s square

The major expert of St Mark’s winged lion is Alberto Rizzi. In his three volumes published by Cierre Edizioni, he has analyzed almost 5000 statues of Venetian lions, not just in Venice of course, but both in the Stato da Mar and Stato da Terra as Venetians in the past addressed the territories they controlled in the sea and on the land. Interviewed by Alessandro Marzo Magno, Rizzi says he is delighted to know that a new hypothesis regarding the origin of this statue has come up.

So where does it come from and how old is it? 

In the late 1980 the responsible scholar in charge for archeological heritage in the Veneto Region, Bianca Maria Scarfi, analyzed the statue from a stylistic point of view and proposed it was a hellenic statue from Anatolia. The statue in her vision, was very old, dating back to the IV century BC. As a Greek statue, likely a gryphon, the original parts are the head, the mane, parts of the chest, the left side and partially the paws. 

In the past it also was told the statue represented a chimera and that it came from the Sasanian Empire in Iran, dating back to the 3rd-7th century AC. A chimera looks like a lion, but has a goat‘s head on the side and a tail looking like a snake‘s head. The idea was the two wings were therefore added later, replacing the goat and the snake heads.

A made-in-China statue as a symbol of Venice?

However, during the recent conference on Marco Polo held at the University of Venice, Ca’ Foscari, a new approach has brought to the conclusion that the statue came from China and it is much more recent. Dating back to the 8th or 9th century AC, the statue belongs to the Tang dynasty and was made right at the time when the Doge’s palace was for the first time erected in St Mark’s square.

Massimo Vidale and Gilberto Artioli from the University of Padua have analyzed the statue with a very modern system, checking the lead isotopes and they are pretty certain that the copper came from southern-eastern China, the Lower Yangtze area. And it’s exactly the head, the mane, the chest of the statue revealing where the copper came from. Even if it might be that the statue was cast somewhere else, the provenience of the copper is unmistakable.

The two scholars will soon publish their research and I am so much looking forward to reading their final conclusions. In fact, their hypothesis is that this terrifying monster, standing on the top of the column by St Mark’s square, was originally a Guardian Lion. In Tang dynasty China, the “zhènmùshòu” was a guardian lion, with an apotropaic function, protecting the tombs from evil spirits. 

Somehow this statue was therefore modified: the horns were removed, two wings were added.

So is the mystery of the origin of this statue finally totally revealed? No more secrets?

Of course not. There are still many questions regarding this statue. First of all, when did it reach Venice? The first and so far only document of the ancient times mentioning the statue dates back to 1293. It was the Great Council ordering the bronze statue had to be restored with the money coming from taxes on wood and wine. So that means the statue arrived some time before. But nobody knows when it reached Venice, nor when it was placed on that column. And yet, 2,800 kilos are not so easy to bring up there… 

And who brought the winged lion to Venice?

A possible answer is that it was brought to Venice by Marco Polo’s father and uncle after returning from Asia in 1270. The Great Council’s document in fact proves it was not Marco Polo who brought it here as he returned in 1295. He certainly saw it when he came back from his travels in Asia.

What one knows very well is that it was looted by the French troops led by Bonaparte to Paris. It was placed by the fountain at the Invalides. It was returned and damaged during the transportation back to Venice. Paws, tail and wings had to be restored (or newly remade). So, as often in Venice, even this statue is a true patchwork of cultural heritage, crossing different continents. It will be interesting to understand the origin of each single part of this marvelous statue.

One last note about lions in the Venetian Lagoon

The French iconoclastic action in 1797 brought to the destruction of almost all statues of winged lions in Venice. But, as Alessandro Marzo Magno in his book about the Lions in Venice (Edizioni Biblioteca dell’Immagine, 2024) well pointed out, there is one winged lion that was not destroyed, just removed and then placed back to where it was. This lion is in the fishing town south of Venice, Chioggia. It is quite unique for some stylistic aspects (the posture, the tail, the sword). Just, however, it is called Chioggia’s “cat” 🙂

by Luisella Romeo
registered tourist guide in Venice, Italy
www.seevenice.it

Note: a great photo of this lion is by Massimo Ripani: https://101-zone.com/2024/03/21/il-leone-di-san-marco-a-venezia/