Columns of St Mark and St Theodore

You are in the Piazzetta, the antechamber to St Mark's Square, and these two columns were the city's front door for anyone arriving by sea. On one stands the winged lion of St Mark; on the other, St Theodore, Todaro in Venetian, the city's first patron, slaying a dragon.

1Two columns, and one that sank

According to tradition, they were raised by a certain Nicolò Barattiero in the time of Doge Sebastiano Ziani (1172-1178), and there was a third that fell into the water while being unloaded and was never found. Recent studies prefer to date their erection to the 13th century, using material brought from Constantinople. The lion is a very old bronze, perhaps an eastern chimera that was later given wings. St Theodore is a collage: the torso of a Roman statue with a medieval head and limbs. The one you see is a copy.

2Between the columns

For centuries this space was used for public executions. That is why many Venetians still avoid walking between the two columns. It also gave rise to a Venetian saying: "te fasso veder mi che ora che xe", "I'll show you what time it is". The condemned man, his back to the water, saw the Clock Tower at the far end of the square as his last sight.

Tradition has it that Barattiero was rewarded with the right to run games of chance between the columns, the only place where gambling was allowed.

3What to look for

• The bronze lion, gazing east.
• The reliefs on the bases, showing the trades once practised in the square.
• The Clock Tower, lined up at the far end.