The Pier near Riva degli Schiavoni with the Column of San Marco

This 1742 view of the pier near the Riva degli Schiavoni with the column of San Marco, now in Milan's Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, focuses on the ceremonial entrance to Venice at the Molo's twin columns in a composition that foregrounds the column of the winged lion rather than treating it as a compositional backdrop. The column of San Marco, raised in the twelfth century along with its companion column of San Teodoro, was Venice's most potent emblem: the winged lion atop it could be seen from far out in the Bacino and identified the Republic's territory to approaching sailors. Executions were publicly carried out between the two columns — a deliberate juxtaposition of the symbolic and the punitive at Venice's ceremonial entrance. Canaletto's decision to focus on the column itself rather than the full Molo panorama reflects either a specific commission or a compositional experiment isolating a significant element from its typical panoramic context. The Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, part of the great complex of Milan's civic museums in the Sforza castle, holds significant Venetian paintings alongside its famous collection of Lombard art and Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà.

The column rises dramatically against the sky, providing a strong vertical element in the waterfront composition. The surrounding architectural detail and boat traffic are rendered with Canaletto's mature precision.