Venetian Lions

The rule is that every kid who comes to San Marco Square has to ride the lions. In the summer there is a lineup to get on them. These ones are not the  Winged lions of St Marc but instead were brought back from some Venetian conquest.
The kids started a little game that I found out was a popular one and they counted 40 lions throughout Venice. An interesting tidbit:
"One secret the lions tell is whether Venice was at war or peace when the lion was put there. If the book in his paw is open, Venice was at peace. When the book is closed, Venice was at war. Finding closed books in the city of Venice gets extra points."
Counting Lions

Here is the Apostle Marc and his symbol the winged lion. I will have to keep my eyes open for more examples of the winged lion as Croatia used to be under the influence of Venice. Many of the lions were destroyed after Venice fell.

Apparently at one time some of the Venetians revered the lion so much that they had live lions in their gardens and even had one in a golden cage in St Marc's Square. He died apparently from being poisoned from licking the bars of his cage. Thereafter, for several centuries, the rulers barred people from owning captive lions.