A brief History
The Sculptor Giacomo Colombo
and The Statues of The Virgin Mary of Constantinople
Of the many wooden statues housed in Pietractella’s churches, two representing the Virgin Mary of Constantinople are worth mentioning.
As earlier noted, the rural chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary once housed an exquisite multicoloured wooden statue manufactured in Umbria-Abruzzo, dating back to the second half of the 14th century. As stated by the expert Dora Catalano, the statue “stands out for its strict adhesion to the artistic styles popular in Naples, especially aristocratic or more exquisitely “cortese” (courtly)…The artist draws from a repertory of rhythm and shapes well experimented by Tuscany artists, mainly the ample curving of the mantle pleats, detailed and elegantly arranged at the feet of the Virgin Mary. At the same time [he] studied in depth the Tuscan artists working in Naples, taking inspiration from them”. The statue is currently part of a private collection in Turin.
A radical change in the liturgical apparatus and church interior took place between the 17th-18th centuries, inspired by a cultural, and artistic renaissance mainly promoted by members of important aristocratic families and by the highest ranks of the lay clergy.
With reference to “le terre di Pietracatella”, as Cardinal Orsini wrote in reference to Pietracatella, standing out as a clear example of this renaissance is the statue of the Virgin Mary of Constantinople by the sculptor Giacomo Colombo.
Born near Padua in 1663, Colombo moved to Naples in his youth where he worked as a sculptor. Indeed, a considerable number of his works, both by himself and from his workshop can be found in Molise.
As a sculptor Colombo used marble, multicoloured wood and stucco. He was also a painter, an artist of religious silverware and an engraver of copies of his own works. In 1689 he joined the Corporazione dei pittori (Painters’ Guild), becoming in 1701 its Prefect. His workshop was active from 1688 until his death in 1730. Among his pupils was Paolo Saverio di Zinno from Campobasso, a famous artist of Molise and inventor of the Misteri, a religious event held on Corpus Domini in Campobasso.
The statue of the Virgin Mary of Constantinople, inside the church of the same name, was created in 1695 and restored in 1870 by Gabriele Falcucci from Atessa, as the inscription on the base states. Colombo’s undoubted mastery is already clear in this early work. The motherly expression on the Virgin Mary’s face shows affinity with the pose and hieratic gesturer of the Byzantine Theotokos Hodegetriae.
What is particularly characteristic is its humanity that finds its correspondent in the beauty of young local girls, producing an effective example of realism. A wide star-studded cobalt blue mantle wraps the Virgin Mary and a playful Baby Jesus, with his right hand blessing whilst holding in his left hand the globe with the cross, typical traits of imperial iconography and symbols of God’s power.
Also remarkable is the particular attention to details such as the refined material wrapped around the Child or the multicoloured shawl around the Virgin Mary’s neck. It is interesting to note how this statue has no bearing to the Madonna of Constantinople housed in the church of the same name in Naples.
The Madonna of Constantinople in Pietracatella is just one piece of work of the composite production spread throughout a much wider area of which Pietracatella was an integral part, as far as the Capitanata.