Board 109 – THE INSCRIPTION OF BELLA BELLA - Grotta di Sant'Angelo in Criptis

THE INSCRIPTION OF BELLA BELLA

A woman by the name of Bella Bella was perhaps among the last, in the 15th century, to ask for the Archangel’s protection in the Santermana grotto.

Her invocation, on seven lines, written in humanistic characters and dating back to the 15th century, reads:

schivami
dai
mali me
a no –
me
bella
bella

dodge me
from
evils me
by na –
me
bella
bella

Given the particularly polished vocabulary, this could have been a woman of culture, and considering the period, probably a courtesan from a large city such as Rome, Naples or Venice.

The graffito, excluding the partially overlapping cross, which would be dated to a later period, measures only 6.5 cm in base by 9 cm in height (the height including the cross is 13 cm).

Boards

Board 101 – INTRODUCTION – SANT’ANGELO 4.0 PROJECT – BENEMERITI
Board 102 – SANT’ANGELO OF LAKE TRAVATO – TOPONYMY AND LONGOBARD PRESENCE
Board 103 – ANCIENT ROAD SYSTEM – TRAVELLING IN THE PAST
Board 104 – GEOLOGY AND KARSTIFICATION – RUPESTRIAN FORMS BETWEEN APULIA AND MATERA – THE CAVE OF SANT’ANGELO
Board 105 – THE SHIP
Board 106 – THE CHURCH
Board 107 – NATURAL CAVES IN APULIA DEDICATED TO THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL
Board 108 – THE ENTRANCE TO THE CAVE
Board 109 – THE INSCRIPTION OF BELLA BELLA
Board 110 – PAVING AND PATHS – LAMPS AND LANTERNS
Board 111 – PILGRIMS, BUILDINGS AND PLACES OF HOSPITALITY – SHEPHERDS AND TRANSHUMANCE
Board 112 – THE CULT OF WATER – GRAFFITI AND INSCRIPTIONS – MONOGRAMMATISED CROSSES – SANT’ANGELO 4.0 PROJECT
Board 113 – BATS – THE PROTECTION OF BATS – SANCTIONS – BATS AND HISTORICAL-MONUMENTAL BUILDINGS
Board 114A – THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND CHRIST PANTOCRATOR
Board 115 – THE ARCHANGEL MICHELE PIERCING THE DRAGON
Board 116 – VIRGIN WITH CHILD BETWEEN THE ARCHANGEL MICHELE AND ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST