Porta del Monticano or del Leone

On the external façade – within the bridge’s niche – stands a fresco depicting the “Lion of St. Mark andante”, by Giovanni Antonio de Sacchis, called Pordenone (Pordenone approx. 1483 – Ferrara 1539). The title of the painting is due to the laying of the lion, which rests its hind legs on the Venetian Lagoon, while the front legs go to conquer the Mainland; Tradition has it that the open book that the lion holds with its legs, is a symbol of the peaceful process with which the city is subjected to by the Serenissima. Near the Lion there are frescoes of Justice and coats of arms of Podesta, rectors sent from Venice, who replaced them every sixteen months to prevent them from entering into collusion with the powerful locals.
On the internal façade of the door, on the other hand, a copy of a “lion going” is visible, in carved stone, whose original – now preserved in the Civic Museum – was chiselled at the end of the XVIII century by the French that had just arrived in the city.