In the past, the presence of figures of gigantic proportions was often used to increase their power, in fact, even the gods and demigods were often referred to as giant creatures. TO Messina, in August, the imposing wooden statues of the giants Mata and Grifone they are carried in procession. There are several schools of thought on the story of the two giants.
Different schools of thought
The most widespread school of thought holds that Mata and Grifone are i founding giants of the city of Messina.
Kill she was a beautiful Sicilian girl and Grifone a Saracen giant, pirate, of Muslim faith. During one of his many acts of piracy, he saw Mata, fell in love with her and asked her to marry her father. But neither the father nor the girl intended to say yes. Grifone then used every means, licit and illicit, to get what he wanted but he couldn't. The giant understood that the only way to win the heart of the beloved woman was to repent and change her life. Then he converted to Christianity, was baptized with the name of Grifo and dedicated himself to the cultivation of the land and to charitable works. Mata, therefore, fell in love with that giant who, for love of him, changed his life, religion and name and, finally, reciprocated his love.
Another school of thought, see one religious symbolism in the figures of Mata and Grifone. Mata, a white giantess on a white horse symbolizes the Roman Church; Griffin, black on black horse, the Church of Constantinople. These two figures therefore represent the Eastern Church and the Roman Church as continuity of Christian worship before and after the Islamic period.
The statues of Mata and Grifone
According to some historians, the drawing of the horses of Mata and Grifone was done by Leonardo da Vinci or Raffaello Sanzio. It is also thought that the head and bust of Griffin are the oldest parts, probably from the XNUMXth century. The head was sculpted by Montanini or by Calamech, who perhaps were inspired by the statue of Jupiter Capitoline which is found in the Vatican Museums; in fact the giant is not an African, but has Greco-Roman features.