Audio transcription
Before entering the church of Sant’Elena, let’s pause to observe the so-called Atrium of Santa Maria Matricolare, named after the first cathedral, built in the Carolingian era and then struck by a powerful earthquake in 1117. This area houses several tombs from various periods, but one detail in particular catches our attention.
There is a large bone hanging in front of the bas-relief depicting the Virgin Mary and Child. Some say it is a dragon bone; others a whale rib. In fact, the analogy with the so-called ‘costa’, a large animal rib hanging beneath the archway between Piazza dei Signori and Piazza delle Erbe in Verona, is evident. Despite numerous occult hypotheses, including the belief that it could be the ‘rib of the devil’, the latter bone actually served as an advertising sign for a shop selling medicinal herbs and spices. Here in the cathedral, however, the bone we are looking at represents a sort of amulet to protect the faithful in the eternal struggle between good and evil
