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

October 14,1923 Boistfort, Belgium Jane Doe

On October 14, 1923, an unknown woman was found shot dead in the Sonian Forest near Boistfort, Belgium. Due to the items on her person, it was likely she was a foreigner from France or Italy. There is little information on this case. It's not stated whether or not her murder was solved.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Wikimedia

Unknown Artists: Antimenes Painter

Olive Gathering, amphora, ‚circa 520 BC.

The Antimenes Painter is an unknown Attic vase painter with the use of the black-figure style and 150 works have been attributed to them. He got his name from an archaeological convention, derived from the Kalos inscription on a hydria in the archaeological museum of Leyden. He's known to be active between circa 530 and 510 BC like in Etruria as most of his works were found there. He may have a connection with the workshop of Andokides.

He depicted the current repertoire of his periods such as the adventures of Herakles, Dionysos and his companions, and chariot scenes. His work and themes are described as organized and his distinctive motifs are idyllic. They often included subsidiaries in the main narrative.

His drawing style is similar to Psiax and influences of early red-figure style, but regardless he used the black figure technique.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia

Haunted Objects: Pupa The Doll

Pupa the Doll was a doll made for a little Italian girl in the 1920s. She would own the doll up until her death in 2005. Since she was a girl the owner stated that the doll was alive and would talk to her throughout the years. The doll was a friend who helped a little girl grow up and kept her secrets.

Pupa and her owner's family would travel a lot throughout Europe and the U.S. At the end of WWII, her owner's grandmother would pass away and as a memento, they sewed a button from her grandmother's clothes onto Pupas. Pupa and her owner would eventually settle in the U.S. and her owner would start a family. 

Her owner would often tell family members how special Pupa was and it wasn't until after death that they realized it was true. After her owner's death, she was still active. She is now kept in a glass case and isn't happy about it. When someone decided to clean the case they fogged up the window and saw the message Pupa Hate on the glass. Sometimes tapping can be heard on the glass and at times a strange faint laugh can be heard.

SOURCES:

ObscUrban Legends

Emadion

The Paranormal Guide

Lovers Of Valdaro

 

In 2007 the skeletal remains now known as The Lovers of Valdaro or Valdaro Lovers were found at a Neolithic tomb in San Giorgio near Mantua, Italy. The two skeletons were buried face to face with their arms around each other much like a lovers embrace. Double burials like this would have been rare at the time. They did not die in this position and were placed in the grave this way 6,000 years ago.

The pair of skeletons were one female and one male neither above the age of 20. Their deaths are unknown but it isn't believed to be violent as the bones showed no signs of damage. The male skeleton was found with a flint arrow near the neck and the female had a long flint blade along the thigh, plus two knives under the pelvis. It's believed these weapons were grave goods.

A block of dirt with the couple was placed in a wooden box leaving the remains undisturbed. Right now the couple is permanently displayed inside a glass case in the National Archeological Museum of Mantua.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia

The Vintage News April 9, 2017

Unknown Artist: Master of Rebel Angels

The Master of the Rebel Angels is an anonymous master of the Sienese School in Siena, Italy. He is only known for two panels of an ancient polyptych panted between 1340 to 1345. This artist had an influence on the Limbourg brothers for the illuminated manuscript Les Tres Riches Heures de Duc de Berry(1410).

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

French Ministry of Culture (The Fall of Rebel of the Angels)

French Ministry of Culture (Saint Martin Sharing his Mantle)

Disappearance of Angelo Rinella

At 6:30 a.m on Jan. 27, 1997, 60-year-old Angelo Rinella went on a stroll from his home in Ventimiglia, Imperia, Italy. This was not unusual every morning he would go and walk with friends near the fruit and vegetable market and town square. However, on this day Angelo went missing and has not been seen since.

Angelo is a white male and was 60-years-old at the time. He's 160 cm. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark brown jacket, dark brown pants, brown shoes and a checkered shirt. 

SOURCES:
Doe Networ

Chi L'ha Visto

Unknown Artist: Master of the Greenville Tondo

 

Saint Sebastian (1500-1510)

The Master of Greenville Tondo was an Italian artist that was known to be active between 1454 and 1513. It's believed that the artist was likely from Tuscany or Umbria. They were likely a follower of Pietro Perugino. More than 20 works were attributed to this artist.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg

Sotheby's

Princeton University Art Museum

Disappearance of Frederico Segato

 

On December 10, 1997 67-year-old Frederico Segato left his home in Motta di Livenza, Italy. He seemed agitated when he left in his green metallic Rover 111, with the license number AH446YY.  Fredrico is a retired truck driver. There is little information in English sources. 

Frederico is a white male and was 67-year-old at the time. He's 172 cm. He has grey hair and was balding, and light-colored eyes. He was wearing a blue coat, small brown checkered pants, a small checkered and a brown hat. 

SOURCES:

Doe Network

September 23, 1995 Bordighera, Italy Jane Doe

On September 23, 1995, the body of a woman was found floating in the sear near Bordighera, Italy, and close to the French border. The woman had been murdered. He had been hit several times on the right side of her head possibly when she was sleeping or lying down as it appears the opposite side was rested on a soft surface. The weapon was either a bottle or a bar like item. It's possible that she may have been attacked and killed aboard a boat and then tossed into the sea to drown. 

Jane Doe is a white female around 25-years-old. She's 172 cm and 60 kg. She has black and wavy hair and her skin tones described as being Olive colored. She has a C-section scar around 1-2 years old meaning at the time of her death she may have a young child. She was wearing a Tokyo CIty brand t-shirt, a hoodless "Mid Way Sport Style" brand cotton sweatshirt, an Off Shore brand hooded sweatshirt, silk, and satin panties size 38/40 (French Sizing), an armlet around her ankle, and a pair of patterned socks. 

SOURCES:

Doe Network
Chi l'ha Visto

Anonymous Artists: Master of Offida

The Virgin and Child Enthroned; Christ on the Cross between the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist

The Maestro di Offida or Master of Offida is an unknown artist who has artwork attributed to them in 1350 to 1370. The Master painted beautiful frescos in Offida and Ascoli Piceno in Marche, Italy. He has a style of courtly realism and may have had influence seems to have been the school of Giotto, and rebellion against the Byzantine school. This style has become known as Rimini School.

It's thought that the artist may have worked with Allegretto Nuzi or Andrea da Bologna. He could have also been a monk, but this is unknown. His identity is still unknown. His artwork can be identified through his unique way of painting rays from halos. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Montefiore Dell Aso

Harvard Art Museums

Who Are The Occupants of the "Tomb of the Athlete"

In the Casse Rosse area west of the center of Rome a miraculous discovery happened. Most Ancient burials are typically destroyed by time, people, and mother nature.  During construction in the area, by an earthmover working to extend an aqueduct about 6 ft underground. What was found was a tomb with four people inside was revealed. The tomb itself was untouched and what was buried there stayed there.

The four people were a man in his 30's, a man in his 50's, a man between 35 and 45 and a woman of undetermined age. The man in his 30's and the man in his 50's was laid out on counters, and the woman and They had died sometime in the 4th century.

It also unearthed jugs, dishes, a bronze coin (dating between 335 and 312), two strigils, and dishes of chicken, rabbit and other animals like lamb or goat. Likely left in the tomb as offerings to feed them in the afterlife.

The strigils were what helped termed the tomb "Tomb of the Athlete". Strigils were used during bathing to wipe off oil and to wipe the sweat off of bodies of athletes. The strigils were used in ancient Greece and Rome as a symbol for athletes. But the men in the tomb were over the athletic age and were probably not athletes at the time of their death.


SOURCES:
Ancient Origins 
Realm Of History
Smithsonian Magazine  
The Local
The New York Times

November 5, 2004 Muggiò, Monza, Italy Jane Doe

On November 5, 2004, the body of an Asian woman was found in a communal field near a public park in Muggiò, Monza, Italy. She was laying on the ground and bushes. It was apparent that she hanged herself and her body had fallen. It's believed she committed suicide. She wasn't carrying any identification. She was carrying sewing scissors and it's theorized she may have worked at a textile plant. It's also believed she may have been Chinese.

She was an Asian female between the ages of 20 and 25 years old. She was 145cm and average build. Miss Shilly jeans, and shoes made from China. She was also wearing a yellow gold ring with inexpensive stones and a handmade copper ring.

SOURCES:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases-int/513ufita.html

Disappearance of Rosa Silla

In 1964 20-year-old Rosa Silla was born in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Her father was Italian and her mother was Ethiopian. In 1973 she, her father, and three of her siblings moved to Italy because of the war. In 1978 Rosa moved to Rome to live with a Catholic Family Home.

Rosa met a soldier, and he moved to Florence. One weekend when visiting him she came back different. Rosa began to stop going out and stopped eating. In July of 1983, she didn't show up to the exam she needed in order to graduate from accounting. One Day Rosa left the home with the money, a few million Lire, she inherited from her father.

One night her sister got a call that Rosa was found in a confused mental state in Anzio. She was hospitalized for a period with a grave form of anorexia. Even though it was slow, she seemed to have been getting better. She was even going back to school.

On November 16, 1984, her first day back, Rosa could only go to her first class because of a strike happening that day. She had a date with her sister, Ermelinda, to go shopping. She never arrived for the date. Some of her classmates saw her at a bar in front of the school, but after that, she was never seen again.

Rosa Silla is a biracial female and was 20 years old at the time of her disappearance. She had brown eyes and brown hair. She was 5'3" and her weight was not listed.

SOURCES:
The Doe Network

October 4, 2001 Cavaria, Varese, Italy Jane Doe

The victim was found in a meadow in Cavaria,Varese, Italy. A boot with her foot inside of it was found first on October 4, 2001. The rest of her body was found hidden in a hole in the woods in the next few days. She was killed by a stab to the lower abdomen. It's believed that she had died between 1995 and 1998.

According to many witnesses it is believed this woman is an Albanian prostitute who went Viola. She had disappeared around 1995. At the time Viola was around 23 years old. She had been arrested during police roundups in Milan. In Milan she frequented the Pazza Duca D'Aosta on the Via Vittor Pisani and in the Brand Bar cafe at the train station.  She probably went to Tuscany and Emilia regions before returning to Lombardy.

Jane doe was a white female between the ages of 20 to 25 years old. She was 160-165 cm. She had brown layered medium length hair. She was described as having a normal build. She had space between her upper front teeth. She was wearing size 37 leather boots, a bra that produced after mid 1995, a round wrist watch with a rubber strap, two rings and 3 gold earrings in her right ear, one of them shaped as a flower.

Dentals are available.

SOURCES:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases-int/291ufita.html

Disappearance of Ervin Vlashi

On March 30, 1998 Ervin Vlashi was home with his sister in their little village Kruje, Albania. He studied all afternoon, but went out to play with his two friends. The boys claimed Ervin went home alone. He was never seen again.  His parent's were told that he was taken to Milan, Padua, and Treviso Italy. It could be possible he was kidnapped for some sort of Human trafficking.

Evin Vlashi is a white male, he was 10 at the time of his disappearance. He had blonde hair and brown eyes. He was 130 cm.

SOURCES:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases-int/3460dmalb.html