L’immagine ‹s-velata›. Riflessioni sulla longue durée circa l’allestimento e la fruizione delle icone mariane medievali a Roma

This study adopts a longue durée approach towards the analysis of the placement and function of Rome’s medieval Marian icons, and seeks to identify some general trends – though out of necessity not aspiring to be an exhaustive reconnaissance. The knowledge of the different ways of displaying these images within the sacred space and the examination of the reasons that determined them, guarantees, in fact, a better and more complete understanding of Marian icons, which can be characterized as true semantic palimpsests. For this purpose, it is necessary to reinforce the indivisible link between the icon and its architectural container: that is, to insert the history of sacred images into the analysis of the respective building history and reread it in the light of the spatial, liturgical, and aesthetic changes that the building has undergone. At the same time, it is just as important to understand the multi-layered role attributed to icons in Rome over the centuries, in a crescendo of functions and responsibilities that were not only religious but also civic and social. Thanks to a good number of textual and iconographic sources, this paper proposes some arguments on the positioning of the Marian icons starting from the late thirteenth century, when they found a place in specific tabernacles, usually placed in the central nave of the buildings. Quite differently, there is an alarming lack of information regarding the preceding period, from the 6th / 7th century until the 12th /13th century, on which some tentative reflections may be made by reviewing the existent documentation. Finally, this study tries to trace the path, which after the Middle Ages led many icons onto the main altar of the Roman churches, as well as to determine the reasons behind a usage that certainly changed compared to the medieval past, whilst still strongly depending on it, such as with the phenomenon of the unveiling of sacred images. This last point – which implies a reflection on the relationship between imago and archetype – seems, in fact, to remain a stable element in the use of icons, despite the diversity of visual and cultural approaches over time.