Edicola Sacra - Madonna di Vladimir

On Via Fausto Vettor, at the apex of the curved perimeter wall of the building on the corner of Via Domenico Chiodo, you can see a sacred shrine.

The work was created by carving a simple niche into the wall, just wide enough to accommodate an image and deep enough to protect it from adverse weather conditions. The recess houses a shelf at the bottom, containing a vase of colorful flowers on the left, a small plant in the center between a pair of small battery-powered votive candles, and finally, on the right, behind another glass vase of fresh flowers, almost hidden, a wedding "rice bag" (perhaps a votive gift, small but significant for the person who offered it).

Inside the niche, against a background covered in gold paint, stands the silhouette of a Madonna and Child depicted in Byzantine style. The image, taken from a poster or photographic enlargement, although partially faded by exposure to sunlight, is nevertheless legible and represents the "Theotokos of Vladimir," also known as the "Mother of God of Tenderness," "Our Lady or Virgin of Vladimir," one of the most venerated and famous Orthodox icons in the world, considered the "Protector of Russia." The original of this work, a 12th-century painting created at the court of the Comneni emperors, is now housed in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Unfortunately, there is no historical reference to the true motivations behind the construction of this small sacred shrine: beyond the simplicity of the setting and the value of the materials used to create the work, here, as elsewhere in the neighborhood, we find a small, significant manifestation of faith and sincere popular devotion.