Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Generali's Lion

Assicurazioni Generali winged lion, LivornoA winged lion, the symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist, marks the building owned by the “Assicurazioni Generali”, by far the largest insurance company in Italy. The company was founded in Trieste in 1831, when the city was still part of the Austrian Empire. The original symbol was the eagle of the Habsburgs, but the Venice division adopted the Saint Mark's Lion for the Italian market. After the return of Trieste to Italy, the Marcian lion became the official symbol of the company.Assicurazioni Generali winged lion, LivornoThe book bears the inscription “Pax tibi, Marce, evangelista meus” (Peace to you, Mark, my evangelist).

See also: Assicurazioni Generali

19 comments:

Michelle said...

The winged lion looks very regal.

Anonymous said...

Strength.

Please have a good Wednesday.


daily athens

Luis Gomez said...

Beautiful!

Jack said...

This is another of your very informative posts, VP, along with handsome lion photos.

Randy said...

Very classic looking. I like the gold one.

Kate said...

I like your treatment of both colour and B&W.

Traveling Hawk said...

That's a nice surprise! I like to take photos of the Venetian lion.

Lucy Corrander : Photos said...

Imagine being the model for the face in the first lion.

Lucy

Cezar and Léia said...

For me a feeling of strong courage,pride,this lion is amazing!
Léia

Dina said...

Oh nice to see the lion in his home country!
The Generali Building with its winged lion on the roof is a beloved landmark in Jerusalem (as you know).

cieldequimper said...

The insurer of my Fiat. The mosaic is wonderful.

Karl said...

I've always been fascinated by this lion with wings.

Hilda said...

I've always liked the image of a winged lion (blame it on my love of mythology and fantasy), but what Mark has to do with insurance, someone has to explain to me.

Doug Hickok said...

I love these winged lions. They are such iconic images and easily recognizable. Wonderful post VP.

brattcat said...

and peace to you, vp. thanks for your kind words.

joo said...

I love lions!

Kaori said...

The winged-lion looks very fierce in your second photo! They must be a very strong company :-D

Unknown said...

The winged lion is a great symbol and the mosaic a fantastic work.

Thank you so much for your kind comment, VP.

Gunn said...

Now i learned something new and interesting :)