Flag of the Republic of Venice
The Flag of the Republic of Venice, commonly known as the Banner or Standard of Saint Mark ("stendardo di San Marco"), was the symbol of the Republic of Venice, until its dissolution in 1797.

Its main charge was the Lion of Saint Mark, symbolizing Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Venice. A distinguishing feature of the flag is its six fringes, which were added to represent the original six sestiere of Venice. The fringes also serve to prevent damage being caused to the central section of the flag by wind.

During times of peace, the Lion of Saint Mark was depicted alongside an open Bible. However, when the Republic was at war the Bible was replaced with the lion grasping an upright sword.

The flag inspired the modern Flag of Veneto region in Italy.

When Napoleon defeated the Republic of Venice in 1797, the last place where the flag was used as a symbol of the republic was Perast, in Montenegro, a town faithful to Venice which had the honour to protect the flag; after Napoleon attacked Venice, Perast continued to celebrate the true ally and defender for several months, but in the end the city had to lower the flag of St. Mark, with a sad speech that celebrated the greatness of Venice for the last time.
Q4948
Republic of Venice
LOC
Q3649504
dissolution
MEDIA
Q1424805
charge
Concept
Q1861098
Lion of Saint Mark
MISC
Q31966
Mark the Evangelist
MISC
Q28914
patron saint
Concept
Q641
Venice
LOC
Q401315
sestiere
Concept
Q2169543
Flag of Veneto
UNK
Q517
Napoleon
PER
Q4948
Republic of Venice
LOC
Q998789
Perast
LOC
Q1420736
Flag of the Republic of Venice
Concept
1797-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1797
DATE
1797-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1797
DATE
applies to jurisdiction
patron saint