In Castello, above the entrance to Sotoportego de l'Anzolo (angel in English) is a beautiful sculpture of an angel flanked by a pair of crests depicting hedgehogs. It is thought the 13th century marble sculpture came from Anatolia in Eastern Turkey. The figure’s right hand is raised in a sign of blessing for those who pass beneath. The legendary cartoonist Hugo Pratt invented poetic names for some parts of his native Venice; his character, Corte Maltese, called this entrance ‘the archway of bad thoughts’.
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| Sotoportego de l'Anzolo |
The 14th century crests (formerly used to designate ownership of a building) are symbolic of a family name. The small nocturnal mammals with a spiny coat symbolise the Erizzo family playing on the Venetian word rizzo, meaning hedgehog.
The archway, officially recognised as being of cultural and historical significance was restored in 1999.
