Corpus di acquasantiere a fusto e da parete: dalle origini alla fine del Quattrocento (Italia centro-settentrionale)

The research project concerns the study and cataloguing of freestanding and wall-mounted holy water fonts preserved in central and northern Italy, roughly between the Marche region and the Alps, dating from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The catalogue of works, which includes 273 holy water fonts, is accompanied by a first volume of introductory essays. The initial chapter undertakes an examination of the origins, earliest Christian uses, and nature of holy water. In order to facilitate an understanding of the uncertain transition from vernacular, mobile containers to monumental, stone holy water fonts, the textual sources range from early Christianity to the 15th century. The second chapter is concerned with the morphology of the components of the furnishings (basin, base, stem, and any accoutrements) and the materials needed for their fabrication, ranging from marble to bronze, with due consideration for the layer of polychromy that would have constituted the finish. The final paragraph of this chapter is dedicated to the practice of reusing and repurposing Etruscan, Roman, and medieval artefacts in the form of holy water fonts. The third chapter aims to identify the iconography and employed in the embellishment of holy water fonts. This encompasses the initial proposals for the original ornamentation, an examination of the human and zoomorphic protomes that frequently adorn the rim of the basins, the hagiographic narrative and the presence of patron saints carved around them, and the iconographic manifestations that, through the juxtaposition of diverse negative and positive figurations, establish a semiotic network within the stone architecture. This network is susceptible to iconological interpretations. The final chapter of this study focuses on the opportunities and dynamics of commissioning the furnishings. It considers the epigraphic elements that enliven some parts of the holy water fonts and the heraldic arms. These elements, along with inscriptions and signatures, accompany their placement in the liturgical space and the proportionate ostentation of the financing family. The compilation of the work is the culmination of three years of on-site inspections and autopsy analyses of each individual catalogued work, which was photographed from scratch by the author.