Took off like a tiger,
landed like a doormat.
Chioggia has always been in competition with Venice. There was a time when it even seemed to be outshining Venice. But not for long. Near the pier for ferries to Venice, a lion sits enthroned on a column, once intended to rival Venice's magnificent heraldic animal. But the sculptor did not quite succeed in giving his work a stately appearance. He kept chipping away at the marble to improve the lion. Until there wasn't much left of the lion, so that the locals disrespectfully began calling the animal nothing more than a cat...
As Venice expanded its rule over the Adriatic Sea, Chioggia was destroyed and plundered on several occasions (most recently by the Genoese, who, despite everything, deserve credit for inventing the delicious pesto genovese). So the long-suffering Chiozzotti decided to leave the Sottomarina district on the coast and retreat to the island, which was protected on all sides by water.
This led to the city's further development being based primarily on fishing (hence the fantastic fish market).