The monster of Ravenna is an imaginary and satirical monster from the Italian Sixteen Century
History
In March of 1512 a well respected Florentine apothecary named Lucca Landucci described a monster born in Ravenna as having a single horn upon its head, two bat-like wings, and markings upon its chest, a serpentine and hermaphrodic lower body, a single eye set in its knee and an eagle like claw for a foot.
While Landucci had only seen a painting of the marvel, the creature likely did exist. While no one is certain as to what the monster really was but it was almost certainly a child born with a severe and unusual genetic disorder. Records indicate that Pope Julius II ordered the child starved to death. The rumor of The Monster spread across Europe accompanied by dozens of woodcuts and engravings that pictured the monster in various ways.
Interpretation
It was considered an omen of God's anger with the Italian people and, as such, it various disjointed parts could be "read" metaphorically. The arms never developed, scholars claimed, because the Italians showed a conspicuous lack of good deeds. Because the Italians had no firm dedication to any cause, their fickle, flighty nature was reflected in the Monster's wings. The beast was a biological hermaphrodite, and its double set of genitals illustrated sexual immorality: lust, sodomy, bestiality. The great ugly claw was greed, and the knee-mounted eyeball betrayed a covetous love of material things; the single horn-- overweening pride.