The mystery of the vampire of Venice
The finding in Venice by the team led by anthropologist Matteo Borrini of a female skull belonging to the middle of the sixteenth century with a brick in her mouth, a ritual attributed to creatures killed by the plague has provided scientific data than previously was considered a legend. But it wasn’t a legend as the Black Death plague which besieged the city. The island of Lazzaretto Nuovo is already known for the dead bodies killed by this plague that have been found. Near the site of the discovery there used to be a hospital to treat these patients. In this way we hear about old legends that spoke of Venetian female vampires in the city. According to the data that come from that era, it seems that the more the plague expanded, the more they thought then that vampires spread the disease and were the true carriers of the plague. It is quite likely to be associated to vampires as carriers of the disease by the trail of blood in the mouth or nose that were found in the corpses victims of the plague (known respectively as hemoptysis and epistaxis, ). The vampires were recognized for their extreme passion and need to feed on the blood and energy of the living. Inserting a brick or a stake in the mouth, the vampire could not chew and therefore could no longer spread its evil again.
In summary, according to legend, these living dead fed on the plague-infested bodies in their coffins and through their bites would spread the disease.
The results of this archaeological find show us that the vampire women was around 61 and 71 years old when she died, an age which is quite high for the average survival time back then. This will add fuel to the mystery. This plague dwindled the Venetian population to less a third of its inhabitants . It is considered that it ended on July 13, 1577.
To understand this type of burial and the figure of the vampire as a carrier of the plague’s we must go back to the figure of c, Anglo-Saxon term that comes from the German words (Nacht, Night) and Zehra (eater).
In some cultures it is dead or drowned children drowned by their own amniotic fluid. In the Polish theory (which might have influenced the Italian, for at that time there were many Poles in Venice), the Nachzeher itself is seen as a vampire, but has not become one , and wanders in a limbo between humans and vampires . Not being a full vampire, it would be in a half sleep state, neither awake nor asleep, and chew his shroud or clothing and parts of his body, like his hands or lips. It was believed that this shroud protected the plague of disease Nachzeher and grave robbers seek these shrouds to protect themselves against the plague. To stop them, they must put stones, coins, bricks in their mouths something than left them totally inoperative.
Ara
Venice is the ideal city to live all kinds of legends, the female vampire is just one of them. If you visit the city rent apartments in Venice and enjoy the wonders and mysteries of this city.
Translated by: Marc
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