Production, use and resemantisation of Marian images between evangelisation of mendicant orders and political propaganda in Spanish Sardinia (16th –17th centuries)

The purpose of this essay is to investigate the impact of the Marian cults specialized against the Muslim threat in Sardinia in the 16th-17th century by analyzing the relative Marian iconographies. Specifically, we intend to study the processes of reception and diffusion of the devotions sponsored by the mendicant orders of the Trinitarians (Our Lady of Ransom, Our Lady of Good Remedy), of the Mercedarians (Our Lady of Mercy, Our Lady of Bonaria) and in particular of the Augustinians (Virgin Hodegetria), which played a key role in the development of a new iconography with underlying messages of redemption, conversion and reconversion. In the investigation, the political, social and devotional context of reference is taken into account; data is gleaned from archival and literary sources and particular attention is paid to the use of images in their dual expression through sculptural production and literary description.