Monument to Victor Emmanuel II: the first king of Italy

In Venice there are only two equestrian monuments: one from the fifteenth century dedicated to Bartolomeo Colleoni, a famous “condottiero” or a mercenary man and that of Victor Emmanuel II from the nineteenth

century. The first one was placed in campo San Giovanni e Paolo and the second one in Riva degli Schiavoni.

Although the histories of the monuments are different, in both cases it was thought to place them in Saint Mark’s Square, but for some reasons this did not happen.

For the construction of the monument dedicated to the first king of Italy, 48 projects were presented. The winner was the architect Ettore Ferrari from Rome, who was meant to finish the work in three years. It took him more

time because he made some changes to the original project and he needed time to find the right material.

The entire monument dates back to 1887 and it was made out of bronze. The artist captured the moment when the king incited battle.

On the two sides of the equestrian monument there are two bas-reliefs representing two historical episodes related to the king. One dealt with the second battle of independence in 1859, won against the Austrian,the other one with the king’s triumphal arrival in Venice. The two bas-reliefs are also related to the lower statues representing an allegory of Venice.

The death of the second Republic of Venice.

The first statue represents Venice with broken chains and sword, with her hand lowered, a crouched lion biting the chains of its submission to the Austrian in 1849.

The Resurrection of Venice

The other statue represents Venice in triumph because of the unification to Italy in 1866. Venice has her hand raised and a sword which is lowered meaning rest, the roaring lion has no chains and is holding a plate where

the plebiscite was engraved. Beneath it St. Mark’s Gospel. Panoplies, war symbols, the coat of arms of the Savoy and of Rome with the Capitoline wolf and the SPQR symbols are other decorative elements you can admire around the monument.

Devotional images of la Madonna

The cult of Our Lady of Peace

Walking through Venice you will notice many votive altars scattered all over. They show sacred images of saints behind a small railing or a glass protection. However the figure that recurs the most is Mary because according to tradition Venice was born on the day of the Annunciation.

The votive capitals were constructed around the religious image and were made of wood or stone. Used as an ex-voto for escaping either a famine or a plague, they have small dimensions and are maintained by popular tradition.

Their main function was devotional and they were mainly used for prayers by religious congregations.

In Venice instead you find them everywhere on the street walls as they served for the public lighting. Going back to the time when Domenico Michiel was doge from 1118 to 1130, they were placed in strategic places and in dark corners that is near bridges with no parapets or near the canals. In this way they lit up the street at night.

On one of the northern lagoon islands, called Mazzorbo, there is a very elegant and simple one on the way to the cemetery surrounded by a small flower bed. (See picture below).

In the shape of a column, standing alone on the gray pavement, the Madonna is placed inside a box protected on the four sides by glass. Its image represents Our Lady of Peace, and she is wearing a white mantle. The white color is a symbol of purity and peace. Below the box a brass inscription enriches the white support. It was recently added and it reports a message directed to Mary to protect and bless the inhabitants of all the surrounding islands.

The little image refers to the cult of Our Lady of Peace that comes from an old legend dating back to the XVth century. At that time a small statue of Mary was found in Constantinople and brought to Cuma in Campania (Italy).

An enchanting corner of Venice: an outdoor sculpture dear to the Venetians

Location of the street

One of the first streets to be paved in Venice is the “salizada San Lio”. This main street is cut by parallel roads and one of those is called “Calle del Paradiso”. It is located in the district of Castello, not far away from the famous Rialto bridge. (see map above) but there are several others that bear the same name.

Calle del Paradiso

The origin of the name Paradise is unknown and there are different theories among which the most accredited one is that during many celebrations but especially on Good Friday it was decorated in a festive way with splendid illuminations. The ornaments were hanged on the wooden eaves, the so-called “barbacani” .

The buildings flanking its two sides, 26 houses in total, are a set of minor Gothic architecture and an example of township houses.

At the end of the street there is a pointed arch from the 1400s, which is worth seeing as it tells you an interesting story.

The front of the arch

On its front side you see the representation of Mary of Mercy with a wide-opened mantle protecting two people kneeling on each side of her cloak. They have been identified by their coat of arms represented on each side of the arch as Pellegrina Foscari Michiel and Alvise Mocenigo della Zogia, who got married in 1491. As their names remember, they belonged to two of the most powerful Venetian noble families.

Pellegrina Foscari lived in this street in the Palazzo you can see on the left of the canal. She brought her palace in dowry to her husband, who was able to buy the whole set of houses along the street.

Alvise Mocenigo was a merchant, but he also covered various political roles within the republic.

The back of the arch

On the backside of the arch there is the same reproduction of Mary, who is protecting either the donor or a kneeling devotee, who has not been identified yet.

Despite the arch was restored in the 1990s, unfortunately subsidence caused by natural processes or by human activities, its due to time and appearance appears to be extremely inclined.