These little statues and icons of Mary can be found tucked in alleys, on street corners, and hidden in remote passageways in Rome.
DR. ELIZABETH LEV
Art Historian
There's a wonderful tradition in Rome called the Madonnelle, which are these images, generally, of the Blessed Virgin.
And so these are little ways of bringing literally the Blessed Virgin to the streets and to the daily life of the Romans.
Dr. Elizabeth Lev says their origin comes from Rome's Etruscan ancestors. They would put small statues of their gods in high places to venerate them. Often, they would be placed on street corners to offer protection to travelers. With Christianity, these other gods were soon replaced with images of Mary.
DR. ELIZABETH LEV
Art Historian
It's an evolution of something that was once a nameless, faceless protection of a fear into understanding a guiding hand, that we are part of a plan, that there is someone who watches over us. So it shows us sort of a growth in certain maturity in how to confront the uncertainties in the path of our lives by putting them in the hands of someone who we understand and who we know understands us, like the Madonna.
But the comforting nature of the Madonnelle extends beyond their physical presence. A Roman tradition says that in 1796, with the impending French invasion, about 30 Madonnelle began to make eye contact with people below—as a sign that Mary would protect them.
In the 18th century, there were around 2600 Madonnelle lining the streets of Rome. Though there are only 500 left today, Dr. Lev says they are still important.
DR. ELIZABETH LEV
Art Historian
Some of them, they have a little inscription underneath it, offering: why don't you say a Hail Mary? Just don't forget to salute Maria, Ave Maria. Say a little Ave to Maria. So they do have a function today. They do have a relevance today. But I think it's an age where we are so busy walking down the street, looking at our screens, that we don't look up for guidance. We look for guidance here, but we stop looking for guidance there.
Rome's Madonnelle may be declining in numbers but if the flowers and candles people leave with them are anything to go by, there may be more people seeking guidance than we thought.
KG
