Venice and the Serenissima Republic

Venice has been the capital city of a former independent state called The Serenissima Republic of Venice, existing since a millennium, on its maximum expansion extended its branches on most parts of the actual Italian north east and the Adriatic coasts.

The territorial conquest were made thanks to the famous diplomacy.

Or with the strength of a conqueror state, as it was. To represent how a territory or a city become a Venetian conquest usually a winged lion monument was erected on a city main entrance, the lion is a symbolic representation of Saint Mark the Evangelist, it has an aura and on its side a sword and a book. Tradition wants that if the book was represented closed then the conquest was made fighting a war when opened the conquest was made trough diplomatic affairs. It’ s still possible to determinate, on many Veneto’s or Lombard’ s city, if those were dominated by the Republic and how it happened, war or diplomacy.
The lion is still represented on the official symbols of Venice city hall and Veneto Region, as well it’ s the main symbol and prize of the Venetian cinema exhibition.