Page 18 - SAINT HADRIAN’S CHURCH

Adriano Mazziotti

the reptile, as a symbol of renewal, regeneration and then
resurrection after the change of its skin, but also the
symbol of immortality; concept that Christianity has
borrowed from the ancient religions and grown through
the centuries.

In this view, a much more credible explanation can be
found both in a passage of the Gospel (Matthew 10 v.16)
where Jesus reminds his disciples to be “as harmless as doves,
and as cunning as serpents”, and in the crosier of many
bishops and abbots on which two serpents face each other;
thus demonstrating the positivity of the symbol as a careful
guide in the entrusted community.

The other two snakes, perfectly aligned, with their mouths
wide open and looking towards the entrance, seem they
want to dissuade the faithful to move forward, towards the
altar, the place of Christ’s light, the salvation, that the
believer earns after passing the diabolical obstacle.

A careful vision allows you to see fragments and
inscriptions scattered here and there on the walkable
surface. The most interesting and enigmaticic is the one
under the central nave, near the porphyry column, which
is carved on three rectangular tiles in Norman letters, with
some Greek characters. The inscription can be read as
follows: “Bartholomaeus d(e) s(uo) fecit”. In other words:
“Bartholomew had it done”. The question is: would
Bartholomew be the client or the artisan who made the
floor?

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