Sunday, 18 February 2024 04:43

This Church has a 500-year-old crocodile hanging from the ceiling

Rate this item
(0 votes)

The Santuario Della Beata Vergine Maria Delle Grazie, in Italy’s Lombardia region, is an old church famous for having a real taxidermied crocodile hanging from the ceiling.

What’s the last thing you expect to see when you look up in a church? Granted, there are plenty of interesting answers one can think of, but ‘a crocodile’ definitely ranks up there with the quirkiest of them.

But if you travel to the small municipality of Curtatone, in Lombardia, Italy, you’ll find a church with a five-century-old crocodile hanging from the ceiling. It’s a peculiar sight, to say the least, but one that has been around for as long as anyone can remember. How the croc wound up at the Santuario Della Beata Vergine Maria Delle Grazie is, and will probably remain a mystery, but its purpose had been linked to religious symbolism.

In ancient times, Christianity associated reptilian creatures like snakes, dragons, and crocodiles with evil, either as personifications of the devil or simply animals that lead humans to sin. So having it chained high up in the vault of the church served both as a warning for churchgoers, but also as a symbol of victory of good over evil.

While it might look like a prop at first, this is a real embalmed Nile crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) believed to be at least 500 years old, with the church itself dating back to the 13th century. Over the years, many legends surrounding the origin of the animal circulated around Lombardia, but the two most popular ones involve a local animal menagerie and two brave brothers who fought the animal.

Some believe that the crocodile was caught and killed after escaping a private exotic zoo on the estate of Francesco Gonzaga, while others claim that the animal one day attacked two brothers resting on the banks of the Mincio River. One of them asked for the help of the Holy Virgin, and armed with a knife attacked and killed the crocodile.

According to another local legend, the crocodile was let out of its cage when a circus stopped in the area for a show, taking refuge among the reeds and lotus flowers. It is said the crocodile was even blessed with the gift of human speech by the Holy Virgin.

Whether you believe in these stories or not, the hanging crocodile of the Santuario Della Beata Vergine Maria Delle Grazie is a worthwhile attraction. It’s quirky, but it also speaks to the taxidermy skills of the monks whose job it was to turn the crocodile into a permanent exhibit.

Interestingly, this is not the only Italian church with a real crocodile on display. The Church of Santa Maria delle Vergini, in Macerata, and the Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime, in Ponte Nossa, have their own stuffed crocodiles.

 

Oddity Central

April 25, 2025

Air Peace to resume flights today as NiMet halts strike

Air Peace has announced that it will resume full flight operations on Friday, April 25,…
April 21, 2025

Tunde Bakare to Tinubu: ‘Stop playing God, embrace humility’

In a fiery Easter Sunday state-of-the-nation address delivered in Lagos, Tunde Bakare, the serving overseer…
April 23, 2025

Don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ time to make big life decisions, says Phoenix mayor

Kate Gallego Kate Gallego knew she wanted to run for mayor of Phoenix, but the…
April 19, 2025

UFO: US Navy reports on mysterious aircraft launching from sea

A group of unidentified flying objects spotted by Navy sailors is raising eyebrows after witnesses…
April 23, 2025

New terror group, Mahmuda, kills 7 in attack on Kwara community

No fewer than seven people were killed when gunmen suspected to be members of the…
April 25, 2025

What to know after Day 1156 of Russia-Ukraine war

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Missile that killed 12 in Russian strike on Kyiv was North Korean, Zelenskiy…
April 25, 2025

Artificial sweetener found in diet drinks linked to brain changes that increase appetite, study finds

A growing body of evidence has increasingly linked diet sodas and other no- or low-calorie…
January 08, 2025

NFF appoints new Super Eagles head coach

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Éric Sékou Chelle as the new Head Coach…

NEWSSCROLL TEAM: 'Sina Kawonise: Publisher/Editor-in-Chief; Afolabi Ajibola: IT Manager;
Contact Us: [email protected] Tel/WhatsApp: +234 811 395 4049

Copyright © 2015 - 2025 NewsScroll. All rights reserved.