St. Theodore (whom the Venetians call "San Todaro") was the patron saint of Venice before the relics of Saint Mark were brought to the city in 828.
The original chapel of the Doge was dedicated to St Theodore, though, after the translation of the relics of St Mark, it was superseded by the church of St Mark.
The two Byzantine columns in the Piazzetta in Venice were set up soon after 1172.
A statue representing St Theodore was placed on the western column in 1372, but this was not the statue now to be seen there, which is a composite of several fragments, some antique, including a crocodile to represent a dragon, and was placed there in the second half of the 15th century.
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