Rocco Finds His Pal Stabbed…

Several Sunday’s ago in a pile of old books we found a card that read: “San Rocco, pregate per noi” with a picture of a Jesus-like man, with shells on his shoulders, pointing to a drop of bright, red blood on his thigh; next to him was a fairly large dog, with something in its mouth. The dog is looking up at the man and the man is looking up, perhaps at or for god… Blood, a dog, and someone named Rocco reminded us of the great Weegee photo: “Rocco Finds His Pal Stabbed.” So we hopped on the subway and tried to find Rocco and his pal…

PM, July 31, 1941, pp. 16-17

The photo was was taken at 62 Stanton St. It was published in PM on July 31, 1941, p. 17…
Unfortunately, the entire block that housed the Italian restaurant at 62 Stanton St., and Rocco, and Rocco’s pal, Luigi Rivieccio, are gone. Replaced by the … Housing projects… The banality of progress…

A few bits of trivia we learned after googling Saint Rocco: Saint Rocco is believed to be “the protector against the plague and all contagious diseases.” The story of Rocco takes place at the end of the 1300s. Rocco was wandering around France and Italy, curing plague victims and eventually contracted it himself. “…Miraculously a dog that refused to eat, faithfully brought him bread as a means of sustenance. The dog used to leave a nearby castle and the Lord of this castle having a curious nature followed this dog into the woods and discovered Rocco. The nobleman had pity on Rocco and brought him to his castle where Rocco was cured.” http://www.sanrocco.org. The 83rd annual San Rocco festival will be held this summer, in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. See http://www.sanrocco.org for more details…