Lions of Venice

Along with the multitude of artichokes, gelaterias, and bridges in Venice, you can hardly walk two steps without bumping into a Lion.

The winged lion is Venice's symbol or mascot, since the remains of San Marco, the Evangelist, were stolen from a tomb in Alexandria, Egypt, and brought there in 828 AD. Vitorio Capaccio painted this lion in 1516. The lion is usually depicted with its paw on an book inscribed with the Latin motto goes: Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus.
Aka: Peace be with you Mark, my evangelist.
Being Mark the patron Saint of Venice.

This lion guards the Accademia bridge.

Another lion protecting the courtyard at La Fenice opera house.

Each of the arcades of Piazza San Marco have different lions heads. Fortunately not all are roaring at once.

Caffe Florian in San Marco sprinkles lion heads over it's china, napkins, and sugars. I know. I saved the sugar packets.

If a Venetian house has a door knocker, it's likely to be a lions head.

You can follow suit and bring home a lion knocker or doorbell.

Or a winged paper weight. I did not see any Lion masks. Did you?

For a while Venetians kept live lions in their gardens in the 16th century. For a longer while there were thousands of cats, but they were removed to a shelter on the Lido. This Fu dog (Lion of Buddha) is the most current lion to reside in Venice.

Venetians had a penchant for Rhinos as well, illustrated in this Pietro Longhi painting. You do still see a few. There was one on my street corner, fortunately in bronze. Donna Leon has yet to take up Venice's lion in her mystery books, but I've only read four.
The Venetian lion must be a good cell conductor. "Can you hear me now?" This one is lounging in Piazza Mani.

BONJOUR LIONS OF VENICE!

The Lions of Bordeaux...

When I visited the chateaux and vineyards in Bordeaux. I was knocked over by the profusion of stone lions everywhere.

No wonder!

The kingly lion is sitting right on Bordeaux' coat of arms. As well as guarding so many entry ways of the finest chateaux..For example at Chateau Haut-Brion.Now here's a funny thing. Where I live, in Astoria, NY
(just 9 minutes from Bloomingdales on the N train -most multi-culti town in the USA) there is a profusion of LIONS!
38th street is particularly littered with these stone lions!Only between Broadway and 34th Avenue,
in case you should go looking for a pride or two.This has set me thinking...
Have some Bordeauxoise winemakers moved to Astoria? ? ?Will we soon see some vineyards springing up on my turf?
Did I mention that Bordeaux is also inundated with stone sphinxes?
The French sphinx has a coiffed head and the bust of a young woman.
Often she is wearing ear drops and pearls
and her body is naturalistically rendered as a recumbent lion. Chateau Margaux has an impressive pair guarding their stairway entry.Chateaux de Malle makes a lovely Sauturnes, well protected by a brace of sphinx.

I'm wondering when an infusion of sphinxes are coming to Astoria? Could they come to my street? We could definitely use a few sphinxes on 31st Avenue.