Creating a connection between one of Italian history’s greatest artistic icons and Central Florida, Veranda Park’s Quattro Cavalli (Italian translation meaning "four horses") statue fountain, a replica of the world-famous Four Horses of St. Mark’s Cathedral, stands as a grand entrance to the vibrant lifestyle center.

These gilded bronze horses are one of the great treasures of Venice , Italy . Veranda Park’s Quattro Cavalli was created by the Valese Artistic Foundry, the only bronze sculptors authorized by the Italian Government to cast the ancient horses.

While their origin is debated, the horses are believed by many experts to be the work of the renowned Lysippos of Sicyon, the only sculptor Alexander the Great would allow to do his portrait. Accounts credit the Roman Emperor Nero with bringing the horses to Rome, where they were said to be displayed in his Domus Aurea. History does not recount what happened to the horses after Nero and his Golden Palace fell, and the horses do not appear again until around 320 A.D. when Constantine took them to adorn the starting gates at his new Hippodrome in Constantinople.

The horses remained at the Hippodrome for almost 900 years until Constantinople fell to the Crusaders. The horses then were taken as booty to Venice, where they eventually were mounted above the door of St. Mark’s Cathedral and there they stayed for 500 years.

In 1797, yet another emperor coveted and absconded with the horses. Napoleon had them shipped to Paris and installed atop the Arc du Carrousel, the triumphal arch on the Tuileries end of the Champs-Elysees. Most of Napoleon’s loot was sent back to Venice after the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the horses were reinstalled on St. Mark’s logia.

After almost 2,400 years, the horses’ condition finally began to suffer due to modern air pollution. They now reside inside St. Mark’s, with replicas taking their place on the logia. The Quattro Cavallo of Veranda Park, which will stand at the intersection of Grande Ave (formerly Westpointe Blvd.) and Hiawassee Drive, are the only replicas of the ancient horses in the United States.

The Quattro Cavallo statue at Veranda Park is just one visual expression of the commitment to quality and desire to create Florida’s most unique dining, entertainment and shopping destination.

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