Along Via di Gracciano nel Corso, you will come across the Colonna del Marzocco in Piazza Savonarola, so called because on the column rests the lion symbol of the Florentine Marzocco, positioned in 1511 to replace the Sienese she-wolf, as a testimony to the passage of Montepulciano under Florentine rule.The origin of the symbol – as often happens with the symbols of our cities – is still uncertain, however it seems that the name of this lion recalls the ancient consecration of the city of Florence to the god Mars: "Marzocco" would derive from the Latin "martius" = "of Mars". Dante recounts that in ancient times the city of Florence was consecrated to this divinity, of whom there was a statue near Ponte Vecchio. And it is most likely true, since it is also mentioned in the chronicles of the ancient Guild of Butchers and Gravediggers, all of whom were located near Ponte Vecchio at the time, so as to dump the slaughtering waste into the river.
