Una Santa Fuori Dagli Schermi: Caterina da Siena patrona d'Italia e il cinema
The essay examines the transformations in the political use of the cult of St. Catherine of Siena through a perspective that the historiography had until now ignored: the film production dedicated to the Saint. During the Mussolini's regime St. Catherine was proclaimed patroness of Italy, becom...
| Published in: | Rivista di storia del cristianesimo |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Italian |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Ed. Morcelliana
[2017]
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| In: |
Rivista di storia del cristianesimo
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| IxTheo Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics CH Christianity and Society KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBJ Italy KCD Hagiography; saints |
| Further subjects: | B
Christian Democrat Party (Dc)
B Fascism B Fascismo B Catherine, of Siena, Saint, 1347-1380 B Mass Culture B Patroness Saint of Italy B Caterina da Siena B Democrazia cristiana (Dc) B patrona d'Italia B Catherine of Siena B Motion Pictures Italy B Cinema B cultura di massa |
| Summary: | The essay examines the transformations in the political use of the cult of St. Catherine of Siena through a perspective that the historiography had until now ignored: the film production dedicated to the Saint. During the Mussolini's regime St. Catherine was proclaimed patroness of Italy, becoming the emblem of a "roman, fascist, Catholic" nation. But in the postwar period a trend of "denationalization" of the cult of the Saint followed. Through the review of a series of failed cinematographic projects I reconstruct the dynamics of this process. I also analyze the complex relationship between St. Catherine and the cinema, that reflects the ambiguities of the ecclesiastical teaching over the film issue. This highlights the plot of motivations that led to the unpopularity of the Saint. In essence, through cinema it is possible to show the distance between the strong investment made by ecclesiastical institutions in the expansion of a cult imbued with dense political symbolism and its weak effects in terms of the "consumption of devotion" to the patron saint of Italy. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Rivista di storia del cristianesimo
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