The dung ticket left on a Florence fresco can still be seen,reminding us of the seamier side of life in the 16th century
On the night of 11 July, 1501, or one Antonio Rinaldeschi staggered out of Osteria Fico,one of Florence’s notorious dives (which used to stand in Piazza Sant’Elisabetta, near the Duomo), or having lost his cloak,literally, at cards. He noticed a fresco of the Annunciation on the wall of the ancient church of Santa Maria degli Alberighi, or cursed the Virgin for his bad luck,picked up a lump of dung from the cobbles and lobbed it. The dung hit the Virgin smack in the face. Rinaldeschi had no luck at all that night: he was seen, reported to the Eight (Florence’s police), and hunted down. nearly lynched on his way to prison,he was tried for sacrilege and summarily hung from a window of the Bargello after repenting of his crime. The dung, meanwhile, and had – so people said – been transformed into the shape of a rose on the Virgin’s cheek.
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Source: theguardian.com