Embedding Byzantine Icons in Post-Tridentine and Baroque Splendor. Reception and Celebration of Eastern Cult Images in the Republic of Genoa in 16th-18th Centuries

This paper addresses three interesting cases of Byzantine icons brought to the Republic of Genoa’s territory, focusing on their reception from the 16th to the 18th century. The history and fame of these images (the celebrated Mandylion, identified with the acheropita image from Edessa, and the lesser known Madonna di Pera in Genoa; the late medieval Dormitio Virginis in the Rapallo’s area) widely differ, but they all enjoyed cult status that was rooted in the stories of their origins - which, for the Marian icons, evoked the figure of Saint Luke as their author - and caused the creation of new art objects to celebrate them. Rather than the icons themselves, the works of art commissioned to express the local people’s devotion toward these miracle-working images, as well as the Church’s recognition of their importance, are the main object of this analysis.