« Con obligo di celebrare ogn’anno messe cinquanta per l’anima mia »

Abstract

In 1596, the first miracle attributed to the Madonna della Ghiara was documented in Reggio Emilia. This event sparked the proliferation of the cult of the effigy across Northern Italy, leading to the creation of numerous engravings. The transition from painting to engraving serves as a testament to the reverence for the icon and its significance, albeit slightly altered by the subsequent creation of a painted replica in the Roman region. Replacing the altarpiece in the chapel of the villa d’Este in Tivoli, originally adorned thirty years prior, the replica of the Madonna seamlessly integrates into its new setting. Its relocation to this environment suggests an intention, likely by the cardinal who owned the villa, for it to contribute to the chapel’s overarching theme regarding the Virgin’s role in the salvation of humanity. This case study not only sheds light on domestic devotion in Counter-Reformation Italy but also illustrates how the agency of images was shaped by the medium, context, and spaces of reception in the early modern era.

Keywords

• devotion
• Renaissance
• miraculous images
• Madonna della Ghiara
• Reggio Emilia
• engravings