Abstract

This paper discusses the cult of relics and saints in Lombardy under Visconti rule during the second half of the fourteenth century through the study of the influence of the artistic patronage of Emperor Charles IV and his devotion to the relics under the patronage of the Visconti and in their entourage. It highlights similarities in the politico-religious use of relics and in the veneration of saints by the Bohemian lord and the lords of Milan to legitimize their respective dynasties. Similarly, the Visconti, through the cult of St. John the Baptist in Monza and their interest in Theodolinda's treasure, consolidated their dynasty, linking its legitimacy with the Lombard reign approved by St. John the Baptist - reflecting the motives underlying the devotion to Saint Wenceslas and the importance given to relics by Charles IV. The concept of beata stirps intrinsic in the promotion of Charles IV's cult of St. Wenceslas was absent, however, from the Visconti cult of saints. During the second half of the fourteenth century, the cult of relics practiced by Charles IV seems not to have affected the Visconti, though clearer evidence of the cult of relics seemms to have been present among the Visconti entourage, as demonstrated by the fresco cycles of the S. Stefano oratory at Lentate and at Albizzate: in both, many scenes depict the invention and translations of saints' bodies. In Santo Stefano, commissioned by Stefano Porro, Galcazzo II Visconti's secretary in charge of diplomatic missions to Charles IV in Prague, the cycle depicts the fictional translation of the body of St. Stephen in the oratory, which thus became its new burial ground. This example shows how the imperial devotion of Charles IV was spread in Lombardy through diplomatic exchanges, and the importance of possessing and visualizing relics.