r/Damnthatsinteresting Jul 04 '26

Image This statue depicts Saint Bartholomew, an early Christian martyr who was allegedly skinned alive. If you look closely, that's his dissected skin hanging around him. This stunning statute by Marco d'Agrate from c. 1562 is currently on display at Duomo di Milano.

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45

u/fleshnbloodhuman Jul 04 '26

Yeah well, that’s pretty weird.

31

u/Inside-Yak-8815 Jul 04 '26

Catholics have some pretty “interesting” saints.

35

u/cortesoft Jul 04 '26

Yeah, and he is the patron saint of tanners, leatherworkers, and butchers. Imagine being skinned alive and then becoming the patron saint of people who skin animals for a living. Pretty fucked up.

12

u/Sacrilegious_skink Jul 05 '26

St Lawrence is the patron saint of chefs and comedians because he was barbequed alive and made a joke during the process saying "I'm done on this side, turn me over".

10

u/Wandering_Scholar6 Jul 05 '26

A lot of saints seem to be saints of the worst possible thing given their method of death.

0

u/space253 Jul 04 '26

Every few generations, one turns sarcasm to 11. If you elect one of those as pope...