Everyone knows the famous Antonio Canova, who managed to breathe life into marble, giving it a soul and a timeless beauty, but not everyone knows the story of his relics, of which his right hand is still visible today.
Let’s take a step back: Canova died on October 13, 1822, after a series of ailments caused partly by the drill he used to work on his sculptures, which, being pressed continuously against his chest, led to a stomach blockage and a deformation of the chest. Immediately, his body was treated like that of Saints at the time, meaning it was dismembered to create relics.
The heart was initially placed in a red porphyry vase at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, sparking a dispute between the Republic of Venice and Possagno over the acquisition of the relics. In the end, it was decided to place it in the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, where it remains today, in the famous pyramid-shaped funerary monument that Canova himself had designed—not for himself, but for his colleague Titian.
The right hand, on the other hand, was initially put on display at the Academy of Fine Arts, but as it became, according to many, a “disturbing” object over time, it was locked away in a cabinet for a long period. Today, it is kept in a case, immersed in a special liquid that preserves it intact, right next to the tomb where Canova’s body rests, in the Temple of Possagno, and it is freely accessible to visitors. It is also worth noting that there is an option to climb to the roof of the Temple for a fee.
© Marcadoc editorial team | 12/08/2024
