'Pantalone' is a character from the Commedia dell'Arte ("Comedy of Art") who in principle represented the old Venetian merchant, libidinous, greedy, advantageous, for whom everything can be bought, but over time he changed to a more sympathetic character, wise in his pragmatism, although still greedy and traditionalist. This could have happened because of the influence of the Venetian public, who greatly appreciated Pantalone and did not see it as a mockery. The name may come from 'San Pantaleone' (Pantéleimon de Nicomedia), which already had in the eleventh century a very important temple in Venice, or perhaps from the patron saint San Marcos, who was represented as a winged lion and was part of the Venetian flag, so his army was called pianta leone, which planted the lion's banner in each conquered territory. See Pantaleon .
