Giovanni di Piamonte, Madonna delle Grazie (Essential)

Description

The painting, dated and signed, is the work of Giovanni da Piamonte, a collaborator of Piero della Francesca. The work, influenced by the sharp forms of the master, was commissioned in the mid 14th century for the Church of Santa Maria dei Servi. According to Fr. Illuminato Cappuccino (1802), Giovanni may have come to Città di Castello to visit a Dominican brother.

P. Gianio, narrates that the Servite Fathers could not pay the artist, who handed the work over to the Dominican Fathers. However, the sacred image miraculously returned twice to the Servite Chapel. Later, Bishop Ridolfo II and the citizens returned the money to the Dominicans, awarding the image to the Servites.

A second prodigy occurred when the Servites tried to move the painting to the high altar, but the image still returned to the little chapel. In order to remove it, it was necessary to break through the wall behind the Chapel and turn the painting back inside the Church. These events increased the cult and devotion, leading to the name ‘Madonna delle Grazie’ in 1481, recognised as the patron saint of the city.