Colleone

Concerned about his posterity, the condottiere Colleone bequeathed all his fortune to Venice when he died, to the one condition that a statue in his glory should be erected "facing San Marco".

The republic, which desperately needed these ducats but which had always refused to build any statue to honour its greatest Doges on the Plazza San Marco, was deeply embarrassed until one realized that it was possible to respect the will to the letter without respecting its spirit.

As a result, the statue was erected "facing San Marco", as required in the will, but in front of the "scuola San Marco", not the Basilica.