Parole e immagini nella ritualità della Settimana Santa in Sardegna. Fonti scritte e sculture lignee nella pratica rituale dell’epoca moderna

The thesis intends to demonstrate how in the seventeenth and eighteenth century Sardinia it was fundamental for the Church to use the preached word and meditative text along with the devotional image. These are the same tools for control and indoctrination for the faithful. This particular phenomenon, even more marked in the modern age, is realized in Sardinia especially in the rites of Holy Week still celebrated today, the function of the "Deposition" and devotion to the Mysteries of the Passion, reconstructing the origin and development of these rites. It outlines the historical and social context of Sardinia in the XVII-XVIII Century. Emphasizing the devotional and religious aspect in particular towards the Passion of Christ. Including once the religious importance of the event in the Sardinian society of the time and of Easter is understood, as the central moment of the liturgical year, we analyze the function that the sacred image had in the rites practiced in the island, which had greater importance because it was supported by the preached word. Then some homiletic and meditative texts of the seventeenth century are examined, within this perspective. Finally, the historical and artistic side is deepened by critical study of some wooden sculptures, used in these rituals, which is published unedited, incorporating them into specific areas of production and proving once again how modern era Sardinia was a cultural and artistic crossroads and trading center.