Resumen de Sacrilege and redemption in Renaissance Florence: the case of Antonio Rinaldeschi
William J. Connell, Giles Constable
The case of Antonio Rinaldeschi, who was executed in Florence, Italy, in 1501, is discussed. The events recorded in several sources, including a painting in the Stibbert Museum in Florence, show how, after losing money and clothing while gambling, Rinaldeschi cursed the Virgin's name before throwing dung at a fresco of the Madonna de' Ricci, for which he was hanged. The devotion shown to the Madonna de' Ricci can probably be associated with the worship of the 13th-century painting of the Virgin in the church of the Santissima Annunziata, the most important of all Florentine cults concerning an image. The prevailing sensitivity about images helps to explain not only the severity of Rinaldeschi's punishment but also the unusual attention and religious devotion that surrounded the episode. His act drew attention to an existing image that immediately became the focus of popular interest and veneration, in turn generating the signs and miracles to which the sources refer. His execution was thus less a punishment of a specific crime than an endorsement of a development for which he had provided the catalyst.
