Arch of the rib

The Arco della Costa is an arch with a balcony located between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori. During the Venetian rule, this passage allowed the magistrates to go from their residence, the Domus Nova, to the court, the present Palazzo della Ragione, without having to walking on the city road, avoiding the risk of being approached by probable corrupters or malicious persons.

Its name is linked to an object hanging from its top: a bone, probably a whale rib. Placed in the middle of the 1700s according to an historic print, the object has given rise to several hypothesis about its nature: according to some it is a bone of ichthyosaure, while according to other beliefs it is the “Devil’s rib”, a relic recovered by some Crusaders during the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. This thesis is supported by another object, a similar bone present in the Duomo Cathedral.

The whale rib could instead, as the chronicles say, have been placed on purpose by the local pharmacy as a sign to attract the clientele. According to the medicine of the time, in fact, whale bone powder had great healing effects.

The legend around this object is very peculiar: it is said that when an honest and pure-hearted person will pass under the arch, the rib will fall.