The Dragon of Bologna

A two-legged, wingless green dragon which, according to folklore, attacked Bologna in 1572, just as Grgory XII had taken the Papacy. The famed naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi examined the carcass and declared it a good omen for Gregory. Doubtless it was only coincidence that Gregory's family crest featured a dragon. This image was based on Aldrovandi's book of dragons, 'Serpentum, et draconum ' and published in Kircher's masterpiece, the 'Mundus Subterraneus' (Subterranean World).