Dragon Bones

Everyone knows about Saint George and the Dragon, but did you know that Saint Donato slew a dragon as well? Have you even heard of Saint Donato? There’s a church dedicated to him on the island of Murano (well, he has to share the title with Saint Maria, and she even gets top billing), and hanging behind the altar are the bones to prove his feat.

I went there yesterday to check it out. Here’s the church on the outside:

The dragon bones are on the other side of this wall.

Inside, there was a guy kneeling on the floor, over a sheet of thick plastic, using a Sharpie to outline

the mosaic tiles underneath him. They’re doing restoration work, and he was probably making a plan of the design before they remove and clean the tiles. Definitely hard on the knees!

Photography is not allowed inside, so I can’t show you the dragon bones. But as I was eating dinner last night, I realized that I could recreate the scene using the bossola bread (from Chioggia) that I was eating. Here’s approximately what it looks like, except the bones would be hanging below the picture. (Icon photo courtesy of the owner of my apartment.)

You can imagine my excitement at seeing actual dragon bones, and then eating a replica for dinner! Yet another great adventure in Venice.

And here’s the pretty bell tower and cloudy sky, purely for your enjoyment. I listened to the thunder last night for hours.

 

Update: A friend sent this photo, so you can see what the bones look like. I think mine are a pretty good copy, at least the bones, if not the painting, don’t you think?

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