PICTURES FROM ITALY (Est. 2001)
  • Private Tours
    • Private Tours of Rome
    • Private Tours of Florence
    • Private Tours of Venice
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art
Private tours of Venice

Chasing Away Evil Spirits

8/7/2019

 
Walking Tours of Venice
Scacciadiavoli, bell tower, Santa Maria Formosa, Venice
Scacciadiavoli (Santa Maria Formosa)

Surmounting the door to the campanile (bell tower) of Santa Maria Formosa is a stone carving of a grotesque head. It is known as a scacciadavoli (chaser away of devils) and was intended to ward off evil spirits. 

The head horrified John Ruskin (1819-1900): "Leering in bestial degradation, too foul to be either pictured or described, or to be beheld for more than an instant."

​There are other such sciacciadiavoli to be seen above the doorways of Venetian bell towers. 

Scacciadiavoli, bell tower, San Bartolomeo, Venice
Scacciadiavoli (San Bartolomeo)

Comments are closed.
    Blogging about Venice:
    ​its art, history & culture. 

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England.

    Since 200I I have been living in Italy, where I run
    ​ private tours of Florence, Rome &
    Venice.

    Search Pictures From Italy:

    Picture

    Blog Posts

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    May 2017


Follow Pictures From Italy on Facebook

Private Tours of Rome, Florence & Venice

Copyright © David Lown 2001-2019. All Rights Reserved. 
  • Private Tours
    • Private Tours of Rome
    • Private Tours of Florence
    • Private Tours of Venice
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art