Cos?è il Chèba?
The Chèba was a particular instrument of torture used in the Republic of Venice. A wooden or iron cage suspended at a certain height from the ground, within which the condemned was locked. It could be attached to a chain hanging from a pole coming out of the wall of a building, or leaning directly against its masonry.
During the period of the sentence, which varied according to the crime committed, the prisoner could feed himself through a string with which he could drag bread and water to drink.
Da dove proviene il termine Chèba?
The term, coming from the Venetian dialect, in Italian means cage..
It was primarily designed to punish clergymen guilty of sodomy, murder, forgery and blasphemy, and remained in use until the late 15th century.
It is said that this sentence was imposed on 24 dicembre 1391 to Jacopo Tanto, parroco della chiesa di san Maurizio, che aveva ucciso un altro prete. In quell?occasione la pena fu a vita.
Un chèba (un tempo) al campanile di San Marco
For a couple of centuries the bell tower of San Marco ospitò una chèba, probabilmente costruita in legno e irrobustita di ferro, e appesa con delle catene o una corda a una trave che sporgeva da un buco a metà altezza della canna di mattoni del campanile, sopra le botteghe dei panettieri.
The cage. was removed in the sixteenth century after welcoming its last guest, the priest Francis of San Polo, who had blasphemed for the adverse luck to the game.
The prisons of Palazzo delle Prigioni in Venice
The Palazzo delle Prigioni offre l?opportunità di visionare ancora oggi gli strumenti di tortura, le carceri e i vestiti d?epoca, oltre che conoscere storie e stories and legends of a distant Venice. A piece of history witnessing the death and torture machines once used as instruments of justice.
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