Nostra signora di Montenero assunzione in cielo

I quadri votivi del Santuario di Nostra Signora di Montenero – Riomaggiore

L’ex voto è un modello, di fattura artigianale, della Nave Scuola della Marina Militare Amerigo Vespucci. Non sono noti né il donatore né l’autore.

Il veliero è la nave più vecchia ancora in servizio nella Marina Militare italiana. Nei suoi numerosi viaggi nel mondo è diventato il simbolo della tradizione marinara italiana.

E’ stato varato il 22 febbraio 1931 nei cantieri di Castellamare di Stabia. Lo scafo è in lamiere di acciaio chiodate ed è lungo 82 metri al galleggiamento, mentre la larghezza massima è di 15,5 metri. Il Vespucci  presenta tre alberi, alti sul livello del mare rispettivamente 50, 54 e 43 metri, mentre l’albero di bompresso sporge sulla prua di 18 metri. La velatura complessiva ha una superficie di 2.635 metri quadrati. Le vele, in tutto 24, sono in tessuto di canapa (tela olona). La nave ha in dotazione due motori diesel elettrici.

A prua è collocata la polena che raffigura il navigatore Amerigo Vespucci, realizzato in bronzo dorato.

La nave imbarca un equipaggio di 264 uomini, a cui nei periodi di addestramento si aggiungono gli allievi dell’Accademia Navale di Livorno (circa 100).

Our lady of montenero Assumption of the virgin

I quadri votivi del Santuario di Nostra Signora di Montenero – Riomaggiore

The painting depicts the Virgin ascending to heaven. It is a painting on wood by an unknown artist and dates-back to the 16th century. The Madonna is supported by four angels, wrapped in a cloud and surrounded by angelic heads. The Virgin, painted on a gold background, offers the sacred belt to St. Thomas, who stands between the Apostles as they watch her ascend to heaven.

The painting depicts an episode from the apocryphal Gospel, known as Pseudo-Joseph of Arimathea, the Transitus Mariae. St. Thomas, remembered by tradition for his incredulity, receives the sacred belt from the Madonna, as proof of his heavenly ascension.

The painting was originally larger, as evidenced by the clipped wings of the angels at the top and the one on the left at the bottom. Deterioration of the wooden panel had caused the outermost part to be lost. When it was first painted, it was rectangular in shape. Restored in the 1950s by the Superintendence for the Galleries and Works of Art of Liguria, it was restored to its original appearance, eliminating the extensive alterations it had undergone over time. It was retouched as early as the 18th century by Francesco Simonini of La Spezia, and then, in the early 19th century, by the painter Domenico Battaglia of Fosdinovo, who painted the dome above the altar. We do not know whether another image of the Madonna existed before the 16th century, which has since been lost.

According to a long-standing popular tradition, an ancient image of the Virgin was brought to Montenero by Greek refugees from the East following the persecutions of Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor, in the 8th century. Fearing that the image might fall into the hands of the Saracens, the men of Montenero buried it. It was miraculously rediscovered long afterward thanks to a young woman. A church was then built to embrace her.