Dragons seem to be all the rage once more due to the immense popularity of the Game of Thrones book and television series but did you know that a cathedral in Italy claims to house a bone from the rib cage of a dragon?
It seems bizarre and unlikely but it's true, the Cathedral of Saint Leucio in Atessa in Abruzzo, Italy, has a dragon rib on display inside the church. Of course, there is a reason for this, a legend about the local area which is still told to this day. Find a villa with a swimming pool in Abruzzo and make the pilgrimmage to this unique relic and stunning cathedral for yourself.
It seems bizarre and unlikely but it's true, the Cathedral of Saint Leucio in Atessa in Abruzzo, Italy, has a dragon rib on display inside the church. Of course, there is a reason for this, a legend about the local area which is still told to this day. Find a villa with a swimming pool in Abruzzo and make the pilgrimmage to this unique relic and stunning cathedral for yourself.
Once upon a time, many, many years ago, Atessa was not one town but two smaller villages. These villages were called Ate and Tixa and they were kept permanently apart by the Sangro River, which cut between them, and the man-eating dragon which lived in the surrounding swamplands.
In order to keep the dragon from harming anyone, they were forced to give it tributes in the form of food and livestock but, after a time, they grew weary of this.
Deciding that enough was enough, they sought out a specialist to help them out.
In order to keep the dragon from harming anyone, they were forced to give it tributes in the form of food and livestock but, after a time, they grew weary of this.
Deciding that enough was enough, they sought out a specialist to help them out.
St. Leucio, the bishop of Brindisi, came to deal with the problem. Supposedly, in between his duties as bishop, St. Leucio had managed to already take care of a dragon in his own city and, so, the people of the two villages thought that he was the perfect man for the job.
The story goes that the bishop made his way to the dragon's lair alone and got rid of it using his willpower. He merely looked it in the eye and ordered it to kneel down. The bishop then chained the dragon up in for the villagers to see for seven days before killing it.
When it was all over, the two villages merged together as one.
They built the cathedral, which still stands today, on the site of the dragon's lair in honour of St. Leucio and his act of bravery. They even kept one of the dragon's ribs which is held behind glass in a viewing case behind iron bars inside the church. The long, curved bone is believed by sceptics to be a part of a mammoth skeleton, but this has not more been verified either and it has yet to be proven as anything other than a dragon bone. The dragon's magical blood was also used after its death, in this case to cure diseases and to turn the marsh into fertile farmland.
If you feel like having a look at a supposed dragon's bone, this is the place for it! Another curiosity to add to the charm of Abruzzo.
The story goes that the bishop made his way to the dragon's lair alone and got rid of it using his willpower. He merely looked it in the eye and ordered it to kneel down. The bishop then chained the dragon up in for the villagers to see for seven days before killing it.
When it was all over, the two villages merged together as one.
They built the cathedral, which still stands today, on the site of the dragon's lair in honour of St. Leucio and his act of bravery. They even kept one of the dragon's ribs which is held behind glass in a viewing case behind iron bars inside the church. The long, curved bone is believed by sceptics to be a part of a mammoth skeleton, but this has not more been verified either and it has yet to be proven as anything other than a dragon bone. The dragon's magical blood was also used after its death, in this case to cure diseases and to turn the marsh into fertile farmland.
If you feel like having a look at a supposed dragon's bone, this is the place for it! Another curiosity to add to the charm of Abruzzo.
