The exterior graffiti on the Church of San Michele
On the south-facing external wall of the church, at about a height of two meters, we can make out some medieval graffiti dating back to about the mid-14th century. There are several depictions that passers-by in a hurry will have difficulty seeing and understanding. Starting on the left, there is a fairly large phallus, then a walled city with towers, domes, and flags. Above it, there is a rough outline of a sailboat, similar to what we would have drawn as children in our notebooks. You might think that some youngster, with nothing better to do, had played a prank and defaced the white walls of the Romanesque church the evening before. This is not the case and the proof lies just a short distance away. There are sentences written in Gothic script and some in Hebrew. I don’t...