Our Lady of Provenzano

The image of the Madonna di Provenzano, preserved in Siena in the eponymous church, is a fragmentary terracotta sculpture that retains little more than the head. According to legend, the work, originally depicting a "Pietà" placed in a roadside tabernacle, was damaged in the mid-16th century by a Spanish soldier with a gunshot. Since then, many miracles have been attributed to the Sacred Image, fueling a growing and deep popular devotion. The typical iconography of the Virgin with the "decorated bust," which can be found reproduced in many ceramic artifacts, became particularly widespread in the 17th and 18th centuries, drawing inspiration from the original, which was adorned with "coats" of precious fabrics to hide the evident mutilations.