Abstract
San Domenico Church was built between 1441 and 1468 and represents one of the most important historical buildings of the Cosenza area (Calabria, Southern Italy) thanks to its architectonic style and the works inside, such as the “Madonna della Febbre”, a notable marble altar dated back to the XVI century. The church, as well as the sculptural group, underwent various interventions over time, unfortunately scarcely documented; thus, in this paper, the characterization of six white marble samples coming from the altar, was carried out to determine their provenance. The samples were analyzed by means of complementary methodologies well known in the archaeometric field: polarized optical microscopy (POM); an electron probe micro analyzer coupled with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EPMA-EDS); inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS); and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). The results provided important information about the “Madonna della Febbre” altar, suggesting the presence of different typologies of marbles and hypothesizing their possible provenance, including Carrara and Docimium. It was not clear if these marbles were re-used materials but, regardless, the reported information adds precious elements to the history of the entire architectonic complex, providing new issues to be deepened.
Highlights
The marble complex “Madonna della Febbre” is one of the most precious sculptures saved in San Domenico Church in Cosenza (Calabria, Southern Italy)
The comparison between the data obtained from the different analytical methods enabled us to hypothesize the possible districts of provenance of the marbles used in the complex “Madonna della Febbre”
The petrographic observations were not clear enough to confirm a univocal hypothesis because the evident microstructural deformation undergone by the original rock made it difficult to recognize the main and diagnostic features of the marble, and to discriminate the right source among those identified by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA)-energy dispersive X-ray analysis system (EDS) data
Summary
The marble complex “Madonna della Febbre” is one of the most precious sculptures saved in San Domenico Church in Cosenza (Calabria, Southern Italy). The church devoted to San Domenico was built between 1441 and 1468, and represents one of the most notable historical buildings of the Cosenza area [1]. San Domenico Church represents a unique example of the passage from the Gothic to the early Renaissance architectonic style in the area, and is one of only few in Southern Italy. It was realized by highly qualified workers, as the level of execution of many structural and decorative elements suggests. The entire monumental complex has been gradually enriched over time by interventions that have expanded its structure, they have not always been documented
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