Paesaggio sacro e cultura visiva : le pitture della chiesa inferiore del Sacro Speco di Subiaco

The purpose of this article is to investigate the emergence of landscape in visual discourses. The subject of this research is the territory of Subiaco and – more specifically – the monastery of the Sacro Speco, built on the site of St Benedict's hermitage. It is here, in the vast decorative cycle directed by Magister Conxolus at the end of the thirteenth century, that the "sacred landscape" of Subiaco is bent by the monastic community to claim its possession. Benedict is always portrayed inside his Grotto – which becomes a veritable "attribute" of the saint – and the same discourse also includes the portrayal of Chelidonia, a Benedictine hermit nun who lived between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Through the experiences of the two saints, the landscape becomes sacralised and acquires an identity value for the Benedictine community which lives there. In this context, the figures of Benedict and Chelidonia create a visual bridge to Francis and Clare, and the frescoes becomes a Benedictine response to the "Franciscan challenge".