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On the Loggetta, there are three oblong allegorical reliefs representing allegories of the island of Crete (left), of Venice in the form of Justice (centre), and of the island of Cyprus (right). Two of them are by Sansovino's pupils Danese Cattaneo and Tiziano Minio, but in that in the middle the subtle gradations of the surface, the ambivalent movement of the central figure, and the pure classical forms of the reclining nudes all reveal Sansovino's hand.
The picture shows the Allegory of Venice. It represents Venice as Justice with the sword and scales. She sits upon a throne supported by lions in allusion to her Solomonic wisdom. On either side the figure is flanked by river gods with water flowing from urns in reference to the subject territories on the Italian mainland.
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