Education & Enrichment Series | “Venice favored by Mary”

“Venice favored by Mary”: The Cult of Miraculous Images of the Madonna in Early Modern Venice presented by Dr. Nora Gietz
Taking the Votive Sculpture of the Madonna and Child in the Church of San Marziale, restored by Save Venice in 2019-20, as a starting point, art historian Nora Gietz explores the widespread cults dedicated to miraculous images of the Virgin Mary in early modern Venice.
The first part of the talk discusses how, from the thirteenth century onwards, several sculpted and painted miracle-working images of the Madonna appeared in Venice. They were installed in churches spread evenly across the city and immediately attracted a following. Although differing in provenance and materiality, patterns can be recognized among the legends and myths surrounding the origins and histories of these images.
Secondly, the relationship between Venetian society and the images is scrutinized. The miraculous Madonnas played a central role in the popular piety and civic rituals of the Serenissima for several centuries. These cults declined only after the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, when their religious, cultural, and political significance faded - and some were physically dispersed following the Napoleonic suppressions. Gietz argues that these Marian images were a medium through which the “Myth of Venice” found its way into the Venetian population’s everyday lives.