Do you know the background behind the two columns that reside in the Italy Pavilion at Epcot Center?
The columns at Epcot are replicas of the columns of St. Mark and St. Theodore that reside in Venice. The columns were brought to Venice in 1125 by Doge Michieli from what is now Lebanon. Originally, there were three columns, but upon unloading them from his ship, one fell into the sea and was lost. Therefore, we are left with two unbelievable pieces of art that the Imagineers used as their models. Of course, the Imagineers took a little creative and artistic license and switched the placement of most of the buildings in the piazza. The columns at Epcot Center are on the opposite sides from their placement in Venice (i.e., the column of St. Theodore is on the right side at Epcot and the left side in Venice.)Doge Michieli had one statue adorned with a likeness of the first patron saint of Venice, St. Theodore. The second was fitted with the winged lion of St. Mark, who later replaced St. Theodore as the patron saint of Venice.
The statue of St. Theodore is actually a composite of several people, but is widely believed to be Saint Theodore of Amasea. He is resting his foot on an crocodile, which some believe to be a nod to his triumph over Egypt and some say it is a an homage to St. George the dragon slayer.On another note, it is rumored to be bad luck to walk between the two columns in the real Piazzetta in Venice. At one time, the space between the columns was used for public hangings. Maybe that is why the Imagineers flipped the placement of the two columns at Epcot.
The Piazzetta San Marco, view from St Mark’s Basilica
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six degrees of mickey – st. theodore of amasea to hillbilly bears… GO!
1)st. theodore of amasea –
2)depicted on column in venice (and epcot!)with foot resting on a crocodile
3)crocodile may represent st. george and the dragon
4)st. george and the dragon spoof recorded in 1951 by stan freberg (with june foray – 6 more degrees in another direction)
5)stan freberg voiced characters for disney including “beaver” in lady & the tramp, who was the inspiration for the voice of gopher in winnie the pooh
6) the winnie the pooh ride @ disneyland replaced the much loved though sometimes dusty appearing “country bear jamboree” in 2003…
ok ok, its early….
I have really been enjoying this series of posts.
D.O.C–thanks for the support! Those of us suffering from the same disorder need all of the help we can get.
Sambycat–how cool was that? heh…very cool. Have we started a new web meme?
oh ya man… six degrees of mickey is the new….. pictionary! or something…. next, i will teach you how to play password, disney style!!! (the secret password is…….’mongello’)!!
Awesome sambycat! I sit around and try to do that sometimes, too. Then my medicine comes and I sleep…….
Now can you do six degrees from Gary Busey to the Sasquatch in Expedition Everest?
sambycat,
Who, or what, is this mongello that everyone keeps talking about? Is it the new Mickey Mouse flavored kool-aid?
C’mon…drink some more!
😉