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Kostanjica
- Castagna
(near Grožnjan - Grisignana)
These two heads found on the outside of the Church of SS. Peter and Paul
in this a small picturesque but almost empty village. One of them
has a mustache but the other has stylized vegetation growing out of its mouth instead. This would be a head of the "green man"
an ancient mythological character known to Croatians as the "Zeleni Juraj"
- green St.George. Green Man, a celtic invention, was a symbol of life and
renewal. Interesting is that the green man and "The Moustache Man" are
clearly carved by a same artist at the same time. [Note: my theory about the Istrian stone heads has always been that they are not
heads of Atilla, but are descended or evolved from the green man, and on
this trip to Kostanjica I think I almost found a proof - M.G.]
Source:
- Text and photograph by Mirko Gabler
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