3507223 The Lion of Venice, 1754; (add.info.: The Lion of Venice is an ancient bronze winged lion sculpture in the Piazza San Marco of Venice, Italy, came to symbolize the city, after its arrival there in the 12th century. The sculpture surmounts a large granite column in the Square, thought to have been erected between 1172 - 1177. The Lion sculpture has had a very long and obscure history, probably starting its existence as a winged lion-griffin statue on a monument to the god Sandon at Tarsus in Cilicia (Southern Turkey) about 300 BC.); Universal History Archive; out of copyright.