Baptismal And Fresco In The Church Of Santa Maria Del Tiglio In Gravedona On Lake Como. Editorial Image

Pictured is a baptismal and fresco in the Church of Santa Maria del Tiglio in Gravedonna on Lake Como. On the far left is Saint Anna with her daughter the Virgin Mary and grandson Jesus. In the center is Saint Susanna of Rome, a virgin and martyr for her refusal to marry a pagan relative of the Emperor Diocletian, an act for which she was beheaded in 295. On the right, St Julian the Hospitaller stabs his noble parents to death as they lie in bed. His wife, returning from church, throws up her hands in horror as a black demon with clawed feet hangs in the air between them. For Julian, returning from a hunting trip, the killing of his mother and father was a case of mistaken identity. He believed the couple in bed were his wife and a lover. According to the the Golden Legend, in murdering them he fulfilled a curse laid on him by a stag he met while hunting. Full of remorse, Julian traveled to Rome to seek absolution, and on gaining it, redeemed himself by building hospitals and inns for the poor and needy. St Julian is the patron saint of pilgrims, travelers, innkeepers, childless couples, boatmen, and even reformed murderers.