La Berta

Sailko

In Florence, Italy at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore there is a strange feature named "La Berta". La Berta is a figure of a woman's head and stands out of place on the side of the church. There isn't much information on La Berta, but she's been there since medieval times. It's unsure why she was placed there, but there are theories or tales on how and why she's there. 

The most common lore is that the La Berta was petrified on September 16, 1327, and was cursed by Cecco d’Ascoli, an astrologer. His execution was a spectacle as people in groups were watching his procession. Some were watching from windows and balconies. On this day Cecco d'Ascoli was on his way to being executed and burned at the stake for heresy. In the procession, they would go through Via dei Cerretani, and he stopped to ask for some water. 

Berta was standing in the church window and told everyone to deny him water. She claimed he was an alchemist communicating with the Devil using water. That the devil would try to grant him immunity to his crimes and would be saved. During his execution he stared at the woman and cursed at her in Anger "You will never lift your head from there" The woman would petrify there.

Another and more logical theory is that the head is a memorial to a benefactor who had donated a bell to the church. The woman who donated was a greengrocer who had a fruit stall there. She did this so that the bell was used to chime whenever the city gates opened and closed. This may explain why she's positioned on the bell tower wall.

It's also theorized that she is actually was a Roman sculpture that was used as decoration. 

SOURCES:

Ancient Pages

Atlas Obscure

Antica Torre