Angel from the Liotru Obelisk

This angel is a detail scanned from the big elephant obelisk standing in Piazza Duomo in Catania, Sicily, Italy. The elephant obelisk is situated in the centre of the city of Catania, in Piazza Duomo. Right in front of the obelisk, the Cathedral can be appreciated surrounded by it's courtyard and gardens. The elephant is a dear symbol to all the people from Catania as it represents the city. The word "liotru" giving the name to the obelisk, is a Sicilian word meaning "elephant". This word derives from an old legend telling about the adventures of Eliodoro, a young magician that lived in 725 d.C.. The name Eliodoro then became "Liotru" in Sicilian. Legend says that Eliodoro was a powerful magician who loved to spend his time tormenting the people living around Catania. He loved to play tricks, scare and torment them day and night. One day he decided to use black magic to sculpt a black elephant, he made it from the lava rock of volcano Etna. That elephant is the one that we can see standing in the centre of the square today! The elephant then became an important symbol for the city, people started seeing it as a protector of the city, able to stop the lava from reaching the homes of the people living in the city of Catania. The importance of the elephant is also tied to another legend going back to the time when Sicily was a Muslim domain. At that time legend says that an elephant protected the city from a group of fierce beats that invaded the city.本扫描素材为意大利西西里卡塔尼亚大教堂广场（Piazza Duomo）上的大象方尖碑的局部细节。该大象方尖碑坐落于卡塔尼亚市中心的大教堂广场之中，其正前方即为卡塔尼亚大教堂，该建筑被庭院与花园环绕簇拥。这尊大象雕像是全体卡塔尼亚民众珍视的城市象征，承载着城市的精神内核。赋予这座方尖碑名称的“liotru”是西西里方言词汇，意为“大象”，该词汇源自一则古老传说：故事主角是公元725年的年轻魔法师埃利奥多罗（Eliodoro）。埃利奥多罗的名字在西西里方言中逐渐演变为“Liotru”。传说中，埃利奥多罗是一名法力高强的魔法师，整日以捉弄、恐吓卡塔尼亚周边的民众为乐。某日，他决意使用黑魔法，以埃特纳火山（Etna）的熔岩雕琢出一头黑象——这便是如今矗立在广场中央的那尊雕像。此后，这尊大象雕像便成为卡塔尼亚的重要象征，民众将其视为城市守护者，认为它能够阻挡熔岩侵袭市民的居所。大象符号的重要性还与另一则传说相关：该传说可追溯至西西里处于穆斯林统治时期，彼时传说一头大象曾击退入侵卡塔尼亚的一众凶猛异兽，守护了城市。