Famous Italian Attraction Not Originally From Italy? Surprising Findings
The famous Italian attraction is not what everyone thought. The winged lion from Venice surprised with its origin. Researchers did not expect such a discovery.
Venice is famous for its many attractions. Tourists associate it with romantic streets and canals with gondolas. A statue of a winged lion has also been a local hit for years. It turns out that the medieval symbol of the city surprised everyone. It does not come from Italy, or even from Europe.
Controversy Surrounding the Famous Attraction
The attraction in question is located at the top of a column in St. Mark’s Square. The winged lion is considered a symbol of Venice, and was even on the city’s flag. For many reasons, it aroused interest not only among tourists but also researchers. Now, an incredible discovery has been made. It has come to light that the bronze figure has… Chinese origins.
For years, it was thought that the unique statue was a lion-griffin, that is, part of the monument of the god Sandon in Tarsus, dated around 300 BC. It was supposed to represent Mark the Evangelist and was even the hero of a famous Venetian legend. Years later, when it was necessary to maintain and replace parts of the monument, the truth turns out to be different.
The Truth About the Winged Lion
The conclusions that the dowry is of Chinese origin were drawn from a detailed analysis of the bronze from which it was made. Lead isotopes come from mines in the lower Yangtze River basin in southeastern China. Geologists, chemists, archaeologists and art historians were shocked by the new fact. They discovered that the lion is associated with trade along the Silk Road.
Why the earlier mistake? The Chinese lion zhènmùshòu and the one of St. Mark may be considered similar – they share many elements. The zhènmùshòu was a reconstruction of a so-called tomb guardian cast in the Tang period, or 609-907 AD. It turns out that the lion of St. Mark has corrected eye sockets, suggesting that it had horns or antlers in the past, while its ears appear to be cropped and rounded – the zhènmùshòu had longer and more pointed ears.
If the lion is Chinese, then it must have reached Venice in a mysterious way. There is speculation that since the statue was already on the column in 1295, when Marco Polo returned from his great expedition to Asia, it may have been brought to Italy earlier by the traveler’s father and uncle. They had visited Beijing many years earlier.
