Venetian Lion

137x189 Model was stitched on 32ct "Nutmeg" even weave from Atomic Ranch using threads from DMC and Rainbow Gallery The proud image of the lion is everywhere in Venice; gazing down from buildings, looking out from the keystone of an archway, or standing on fluted columns. The more you look, the more you see: no one knows how many there are. Lions, and what they represented in terms of power and strength, were so important to the Venetians that centuries ago the nobility used to keep them captive in their gardens, and for a time the official state lion lived in a golden cage in the Piazza San Marco. He died, probably because he licked the bars of his cage and was poisoned by the gilding. Thereafter captive lions were forbidden, but the lion image continued in paintings, carvings, tapestries and frescoes. Wandering around the alleyways of Venice you might come across the stone faces of lions set into the walls of public buildings. These are mouths of truth, places where malicious Venetia