Italian
The Veneto Region has approved the 2026 ranking: eight projects funded with a total value of 126,000 euros across Vicenza, Lorenzago di Cadore, Feltre, Rovigo, Negrar, Legnago, and Costabissara
VENICE – The Veneto Region has approved the ranking of the “Leoni Marciani Grant” 2026, aimed at the protection and enhancement of historical testimonies related to the ancient symbol of the Serenissima, now emblematic of Veneto.
The measure makes available a total of 58 thousand euros to support eight conservation restoration interventions, with a total value of 126 thousand euros.
The announcement comes from the regional councilor for Territorial Government and Venetian Identity, Marco Zecchinato, who recalls how the winged lion has been the subject of a specific regional law dedicated to its protection and enhancement since last year.
“The Region has thus activated the promotion of specific initiatives for the recovery of the iconography of the Lion of Saint Mark, its historical memory, and its symbolic value – emphasizes Zecchinato –. Not only in the regional territory but in all sites, both Italian and outside national borders, where the Venetian State extended its domains over a centuries-old history.”
Among the projects approved for funding is the restoration of the commemorative windows of the rectors of the Most Serene Republic preserved at Palazzo Chiericati, in Vicenza, promoted by Engim Veneto ETS.
The resources will also be used for the recovery of the banner of the Municipality of Lorenzago di Cadore and for the restoration of the flag of the Serenissima donated in 1669 by the Captain General of the Sea Francesco Morosini. The latter intervention will be carried out at the initiative of the Fondazione Museo della Scuola Grande di San Marco and della Sanità, along with the recovery of the monumental stone of the external pylon, vandalized during the Napoleonic occupation.
The call also funds the restoration of the fresco depicting the Lion of Saint Mark on the facade of “Casa Repeta”, a private building located in Costabissara.
Among the interventions dedicated to the testimonies present in public spaces are the conservative maintenance of the Lions in the historic center of Feltre, the recovery of the columns with the Venetian Lion in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II in Rovigo, and the restoration of the column in Piazzetta San Martino in Negrar di Valpolicella.
Supported the project for the restoration of the two Marcian Lions of the Umberto I bridge in Legnago, promoted by the Archeoclub of Italy.
According to Councillor Zecchinato, these works represent distinctive elements of the urban landscape of the territories that were part of the Republic of Venice and constitute a historical and identity heritage to be preserved and passed down.
