The ex-votos of the Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin of Succour of Ossuccio: valorization and transmission of a cultural deposit of history and faith

Abstract

This case study presents the rediscovery and the valorization of the heritage of the ex-votos belonging to the Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin of Succour of Ossucio on Lake Como, a project conceived and carried out by CREA (Research Centre for Education through Art and mediation of the cultural heritage throughout the land and in museums) at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. After describing the process of the restoration campaign, we examine the religious meaning and cultural significance of this heritage. We consider the disappearance of this devotional art genre from churches and seek to find the correct process to enable its safeguard and conservation. This leads to a new way of reading the ex-votos, where the new assumption of artistic value actually lies in the process that puts the votive cycle back into the context of the vow, and of the inner need to transpose the commitment of the vow into an expressive text generating culture.