The Palazzo Bellomo Altarpiece of St. Barbara: Detail, The Saint is Whipped Through the Streets

16th century
Oil on panel
Palazzo Bellomo, Syracuse, Sicily

The Italian inscription means "When he commanded that she be beaten throughout the city."

The corresponding passage in Caxton is "And when she had long endured this pain, the judge commanded that she should be led with beating through the streets, and the holy virgin the third time beheld the heaven, and said: Lord God, that coverest heaven with clouds, I pray thee to cover my body, to the end that it be not seen of the evil people."

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Read more about St. Barbara.

Photographed at the site by Claire Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.