I just learned about the oldest taxidermy is a church crocodile in Nossa's Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime Immacolate.

There’s apparently a theme with these crocodiles and this isn’t the only church to also have a curling Croc to watch over you.
This boi resides in Sanctuary of the Saint Mary in the hamlet of Grazie

There’s also apparently a wooden carved ceiling alligator in the cathedral of Sevilla
This one apparently scares away evil spirits with it’s scary face

There’s no definitive reason why, but it could be because crocodiles were considered dragons back in the day and was symbolic of the devil, either to warn ppl of sins, or to scare away evil, or just a trophy for the church.
Similar to this ceiling crocodile called “brno dragon”

Ceiling crocodiles though were a common practice with pharmacists and apothecaries back in medieval times probably for similar reasons as like a talisman to ward of evil as well as something for their curiosity collection.

There’s also apparently a town hall that has 4 crocodiles hanging from the ceiling, displayed at the Nîmes town hall, or Hôtel de Ville.

The main reason though dates back to Egypt where the practice of hanging a mummified or stuffed crocodile over your doorway is still practiced today by Egypt’s Nubians, who cherish these animals.
More on the Nubian and their connection with crocodiles:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.timesofisrael.com/egypts-nubians-tame-crocodiles-for-selfie-snapping-tourists/amp/

This was basically started with the first post above and then I kept finding more and it just spiraled into this and now I know about crocodiles being like an evil eye talisman as well as a symbol of strength power and courage.

I’m glad I could share this interesting tradition and holy crocodilians

Also sometimes these ceiling crocodiles were also called ceiling alligators(even though they were crocodiles)
Possibly due to the Spanish term

I found another ceiling crocodile in a church this one resides inside the Church of Santa Maria della Pace where they hang upside down with their head pointed towards Verona and the tail towards the altar of the Madonna.

Look what this has created, I plan to do these in the upcoming yr sometime. https://twitter.com/DatGreenMonstah/status/1319350145771655168

I continued looking into the ceiling crocodiles in churches and found this delightful chap from Tartarin de Pignans, who had the tongue sticking out, and as we all know, crocodilians cannot do this.
More than likely to add to the dragon visage.

These aren’t ceiling crocodiles, but in Saint-Bertrand de Comminges cathedral one is a wall croc that has overtime lost its eyes, I was able to find a before image. There also apparently appears to be a more traditionally hung crocodile in the same cathedral apparently.

I also found this guy hanging in the church of Santa Maria della Vergini and this guy was brought over by crusaders and apparently was killed by a farmer who stabbed it with a pitchfork in the belly because like a dragon, nothing could penetrate its scales on its back.

Btw I found a close up as well as older images of the crocodile in the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie. I also found a better explanation for these crocodilians and they’re reason for being hung in church ceilings.

I found a better angle of the crocodile residing in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace I thought you all would like to see, along with it’s supposed origin, it either was a gift from the crusades or it was an animal caught and killed by a girl suggesting to make a pitfall trap.

Honestly these ceiling crocodiles help us understand what was seen as dragons by the church back then.
Would explain st. George and the dragon.

Look forward to sometime next yr at ceiling crocodile enamel pins and more than likely stickers of the others, maybe even more enamel pin designs since finding these new guys. Each one is very unique in how it’s depicted or posed. I’m wondering what the significance is if any.

Either way I love them all and it feels like the only one that was being used in the traditional way was the one hanging in the Seville cathedral

After reading that page talking about the Santuario della Beata Vergine Maria delle Grazie crocodile, this little excerpt caught my eye talking about prehistoric animal remains and I got one question.
THERE MAY BE A CHURCH WITH DINOSAURS OR PALEO MAMMALS!

Apparently in Palermo(not a church), in the district of its famous market(according to an article) they have a hanging crocodile that is a well known tourist attraction.
And it seems there a church and ceiling crocodiles all over Italy and I want to see them all one day now.

The gist of these crocodiles can all be summed up to one image https://twitter.com/wurp/status/1319639050303791105

Now we’re in the discussion of making resin crocodile replicas for ppl to hang from their ceilings.

Maybe make 3D models for ppl to print
Have your own little ceiling crocodile

If you would be interested in a future ceiling crocodile of your own or pin of one, please follow my business twitter where updates will be easier to find @dinosaurquill

@threadreaderapp unroll

For easier digestion https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1319072755002667008.html

And to close this thread, I leave you with this. https://twitter.com/DatGreenMonstah/status/1319730970912718848