Vicenza, 30 April 2024 – A story of devotion, ancient traditions and craftsmanship that has passed through the city of Vicenza for almost six centuries. In May, for the faithful the month dedicated to Mary, the Diocesan Museum and the Vicenza Jewelery Museum they are organizing a special tours discovering the crown and of the pectoral of the Madonna of Monte Bericopatroness of the city, and of the masterpieces of sacred art that inspired them. A precious treasure that demonstrates the skills of Vicenza’s goldsmiths over the centuries, to which we owe the development of a production district that today exports the excellence of Made in Italy jewelery all over the world.
The guided tour will be held Sunday 5 and Sunday 19 May 2024, at 10 o’clockand will start from Diocesan Museum, where visitors will be able to admire sacred art artefacts created between the 13th and 15th centuries, which document the development of local goldsmith art. Among these, the Reliquary of the Holy Thorn, an admirable work of goldsmithing which preserves the relic of the Holy Thorn donated by Saint Louis IX, king of France, to the bishop of Vicenza Bartolomeo da Breganze. The bishop will have the church of Santa Corona built for veneration. In addition to this, the Diocesan Museum conserves the chalice of Santa Coronaan admirable work of Vicenza goldsmithery from the 17th century Processional cross of the Cathedral, an incomparable Gothic jewel from the 15th century. these three works were taken as inspiration by the Commission, chosen in 1899, for the creation of the crown and pectoral of the Virgin of Monte Berico.
The crown and the pectoral will be the protagonists of the visit to Jewelery Museum – project by Italian Exhibition Group in collaboration with the Municipality of Vicenza -, which will shed light on the history of these two masterpieces of devotional art, created from goldsmith works and votive offerings from the 18th and 19th centuries donated by the wealthiest families of Vicenzabut also by important ecclesiastical figures. Pope Leo XIIIpontiff who laid the foundations of the social doctrine of the Church, according to tradition, took the ring off his finger which is now set on the front of the crown, while the bishop Marco Zaguri donated the cross that shines in the center of the pectoral. The two jewels, masterfully crafted in 1900 by the goldsmith Angelo Marangoni in the workshop under the loggias of the Palladian Basilica, they fuse together earrings, rings, brooches, crosses and buttons in gold and silver, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls and colored stones. The goldsmith techniques and innovations evident in the two works will be explained Stefano Sopranajeweler who oversaw its restoration, carried out shortly before the Jubilee of 2000 by the goldsmith Giovenzio Posenato.
«The crown and pectoral of the Madonna of Monte Berico are two priceless jewels that tell the story and devotion of our city – he states Michela Amenduni, management director of the Jewelery Museum -. A masterpiece of goldsmith’s art that we are proud to exhibit at the Jewelery Museum thanks to the collaboration with the community of monks of Monte Berico of the Order of the Servants of Mary. A unique opportunity to admire these precious works up close and learn about their profound religious and cultural meaning, in a journey that ideally unites the Diocesan Museum with our museum, contributing to enriching the tourist and cultural offer of the Vicenza area.”
«The Diocesan Museum – explains the director of the Diocesan Museum of Vicenza, Msgr. Francesco Gasparini – in addition to the three goldsmith’s artefacts, seen previously, which inspired the Madonna’s jewels, it houses the most significant testimonies of the history of the Vicenza church, from the 4th century to the 19th. Archaeological finds, sculptures, paintings, jewels: a series of works that immerse the visitor in the life of the church of Vicenza, which marked history with its faith and expressed it with all the resources of beauty.”
THE CULT OF THE MADONNA OF MONTE BERIC
The origin of the sanctuary of the Madonna of Monte Berico dates back to the years 1426 and 1428, when the Virgin appeared to a woman – Vincenza Pasini – asking the people of Vicenza to build a church to put an end to the plague epidemic that was devastating the area. On 25 August 1428 the foundation stone of the small late Gothic church was laid and, at the same time, the plague stopped. The statue of the Madonna, Mother of Mercy, dates back to the same year, under whose mantle are the faithful who supplicate her, depicted according to typical fifteenth-century iconography. The statue, sculpted on soft Berici stone and colored, is 1.70 m high and is the work of Nicolò da Venezia. The sanctuary became a destination for many pilgrims. The statue of the Virgin was solemnly crowned on 25 August 1900 by the Patriarch of Venice, Card. Giuseppe Sarto, later elected Pope Saint Pius The bishop Msgr. Arnoldo Onisto, accepting the desire of the entire diocese, approved the election of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Madonna of Monte Berico” as the main patron before God of the City and Diocese of Vicenza and obtained approval from the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship on January 11th 1978. Pope Paul VI therefore proclaimed the Madonna of Monte Berico the patron saint of Vicenza and the solemn feast takes place there8 September.
INFO AND RESERVATIONS: [email protected]; tel. 0444226400 (while places last). Cost of the guided tour: €15.00, including entry to the two museums. Reservation is required.
THE JEWELRY MUSEUM
The Jewelery Museum is located at the Basilica Palladiana, Piazza dei Signori, 44, 36100 Vicenza. It’s a project Italian Exhibition Group (leading trade fair operator that organizes Vicenzaoro, the most important international jewelery exhibition in Europe and a reference in the world for sector trends), managed in collaboration with the Municipality of Vicenza. The Museum is part of the circuit of museum and monumental locations in the historic center that can be visited with the single Vicenza Card ticket. In collaboration with the Consorzio Vicenza iswhich already coordinates the city’s tourist sites, the operational management of the ticket office and the bookshop. Opening time: from Tuesday to Friday 10:00 – 13:00 and 15:00 – 18:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 – 18:00. To find out about the events calendar, the advantages of the “Vicenza Card” and the agreements: www.museodelgioiello.it.
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