THE SAINTS
WITH BIG FEET

The Orthodox Church od Saint Nikola was built in the 18th century. A, small in number yet very rich, colony of Serbs funded its building. The municipality od Rijeka was against allowing the church to be erected in the town center, but the Serbs were obstinate and invoked to the clause of imperial privileges that garanted them the right to free performance of the Eastern Ortho-dox rites in their own temple. One day the governor od Rijeka stood in front of the Town Tower swashed by sea waves, picked up a stone and angrily threw it out into the sea, saying to the Serbs: "Build your church there!" And indeed the Serbs filled in that part of the sea with rocks and on that embankment, not far from the Town Tower, they built a Baroque temple.
When the church was finished, it was necessary to paint the interior. The priest engaged a local painter to do the icons. He lived outside of town and was not well known, but on the other hand he was not too expensive. The painter had to walk several hours every day in order to get the job entrusted to him done in time. Therefore he asked the Orthodox priest for an increase of his reward, which would enable him to take a horsecab. But, the close-fisted priest refused.
Because of that, the painter took his revenge and painted all the saints with big and deformed feet.
"What is that?" asked the priest when he saw the icons.
"These poor souls", replied the painter "had no horses and were obliged to walk. That's why their feet are swollen."
Thereupon the priest agreed to enable the painter his trav-els with a horsecab, but nevertheless declined to let the al-ready finished pictures be remade (to avoid paying a double reward for services), and the pictures remained the same.