Coronavirus made us realise that our health - something that too often we give for granted - is a gift we should all take care of and preserve. In Venice there is a church, Santa Maria della Salute (Saint Mary of Health), simply known as La Salute, built as an ex voto after the town was hit by the plague (1630-31).
As many other museums around the world, local institutions in Venice are currently closed, but they are posting on social media images of their collections or stories about specific pieces preserved in their archives, among them there is a wooden statue representing the Madonna della Salute.
The statue, attributed to Francesco Cavrioli, was placed on top of the Basilica designed in a rich Baroque style by Baldassare Longhena, and remained there until 1870, when it was removed to restore the damages from a hurricane that had occurred in 1859. The Virgin Mary was represented standing on a half moon, holding in her right hand a command baton similar to that of the Capitano da Mar, a commander of the Serenissima Republic. The statue was replaced with another one, as tall as this one (which is over 3 metres) that was covered in brass plates; the original wooden statue from 1600 was instead taken to Palazzo Ducale.
Though the statue looks battered and ruined and it is covered with woodworm holes, it has a disheveled beauty about it: you can still see the benevolent expression on her face and the details of her dress, from the folds to the shape of the sleeves. The statue is still an inspiration (for non-believers as well), almost telling us that we can get through the storms of life even when they hit hard upon us.
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