Hotel Villa Tiziana

A winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice who's buried in the Basilica di San Marco. Lions thus became the symbol of the city of Venice itself, when Venice ousted its former patron saint in favor of St. Mark over a thousand years ago. You'll see lions, both winged and regular, everywhere around the city if you keep your eyes open. You can also find them on the mainland and other islands around - basically anyplace that used to be part of the Venetian empire.