Framing Benedict’s Presence: Strategies of Floor Mosaic Decoration and the Significance of the Saint’s Relics at Montecassino and Fleury (9th-12th Centuries)

Maddalena Vaccaro

doi:10.6092/issn.2240-7251/20507

Authors

Maddalena Vaccaro Università degli Studi di Salerno

Maddalena Vaccaro is an Associate Professor of Medieval Art History at the University of Salerno, within the DiSPaC – Department of Cultural Heritage Sciences, where she teaches “Medieval Art History” and “Art and Book Illumination in Medieval Europe”. She is a member of the faculty board of the PhD program in “Methods and Methodologies of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Research” at DiSPaC and of the Inter-University Specialization School in Archaeological Heritage Or.Sa., jointly run by the Universities of Salerno and Naples "L’Orientale." She is the Team Leader for the Salerno unit in the PRIN 2022 project “MediArSI – Interlacing Medieval Art in Southern Italy from the Normans to the Hohenstaufen (11th-13th century)” and in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network project “StoryPharm – Storytelling as Pharmakon in Premodernity and Beyond” (2024–2028, Grant Agreement 10116911). Her research focuses on medieval art and architecture, with particular attention to floor mosaics, sculpture, and liturgical arrangements in Southern and Northern Italy, as well as in France (Loiret). She adopts an interdisciplinary approach that integrates art, history, primary sources, liturgical texts, cultural contexts, and archaeology. Her main publications include two monographs: “«Pavia, città ragguardevole» Mosaici pavimentali e cultura figurativa nel XII secolo” (SAP, 2016) and “Palinsesto e paradigma. La metamorfosi monumentale nella Salerno di Roberto il Guiscardo” (Edizioni ETS, 2018). She edited the volume “Il Breviario-Messale di Salerno del Museo Leone di Vercelli. Una nuova fonte per la storia dell’arte, della cultura e della liturgia” (Laveglia&Carlone, 2022), and she has also published numerous articles in national and international books and journals. Since 2024, she has been a member of the scientific committee of the “San Matteo” Diocesan Museum in Salerno.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2240-7251/20507

Keywords:

Mosaics, Relics, St. Benedict, Southern Italy, France

Abstract

This study investigates the historical and artistic relationships between the two Benedictine communities that claimed possession of the relics of St. Benedict, namely Montecassino and Fleury. By focusing on the artistic strategies employed in floor mosaic decoration and the veneration of Benedict’s relics, the research uncovers how these elements were used to construct and reinforce their monastic identities. The methodology involves a comparative analysis of the artistic evidence, supported by historical and archaeological documentation. The study highlights the interplay between spirituality and art in shaping Montecassino and Fleury identity and heritage, despite their rivalry over the relics of St. Benedict.

Framing Benedict’s Presence: Strategies of Floor Mosaic Decoration and the Significance of the Saint’s Relics at Montecassino and Fleury (9th-12th Centuries)

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