Also, having seen it, I can confirm that it is not miraculously perfectly-preserved as claimed, unless the average tongue is black and shrivelled, and I’m the weirdo. Could be.
EasyJet weren’t flying that particular route yeT
The other episode was at the Abbey of Santa Giustina, on the edge of the beautiful Prato della Valle, the biggest Piazza in Italy, and the third biggest in the world. Wandering through the Abbey, another monumental structure which is deeply impressive, I came to one of the side-chapels, fully equipped with tomb of famous person. Unlike the reliquary of ole’ Anthony, there was nobody queueing up to see this one. Which surprised me, considering the person supposedly buried here, in a side-chapel of an abbey dedicated to someone who is (no offense to Giustina, a lovely lady I’m sure) a fairly minor saint, is one of the key figures in Christianity. His skull is on display in Prague, but the rest of Saint Luke the Evangelist (Matthew, Mark, LUKE, and John… that Luke) is interred here in Padua. Again, the idea that someone thought that the respectful way to treat one of the principal followers and chroniclers of Christ was to separate head from body and post it to Prague is horrific, but at least we know it happened some centuries ago. Surely it would no longer be acceptable today, I reasoned. We’ve moved on. Evolved. Advanced. Modernised. We’re in the 21st century!
The problem with the story of Luke is that he is thought to have died and been buried in Thebes in the 1st century AD, so it’s not entirely clear how, post-mortem, he found his way to Padua. EasyJet weren’t flying that particular route yet, and it’s a long way on foot, especially for the undead, who aren’t known for their long-distance hiking abilities.
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