Panel: HEALING THE BODY, SAVING THE SOUL: MEDICINE, RELIGION, AND PRACTICES OF CARE BETWEEN SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND SPIRITUAL BELIEF PANEL DESCRIPTION



774.1 - THE MATERIALITY OF HEALING: COSMAS AND DAMIAN AND THE VISUAL CULTURE OF MEDICAL PRACTICE

AUTHORS:
Di Cosmo A.P. (UNIVERSITà DI MODENA E REGGIO EMILIA/ISACCL BUCAREST ~ REGGIO EMILIA ~ Italy)
Text:
This paper analyzes the visual and ritual strategies underlying the cult of the Holy Doctors, Cosmas and Damian. It begins with the hymn of the torchbearers—the candle bearers—performed during the annual procession held on the third Sunday of October in Bitonto. This chant functions as a choral ekphrasis of the saints' effigies and serves as a visual narrative of their thaumaturgic authority. In light of this narrative technique for expressing the charisma of the Anargyroi, the study adopts methodologies drawn from Visual Anthropology and Semiotics to reconstruct the evolution of iconographic models between the 4th and the early 15th century. It identifies how these models were developed to enhance ceremonial visibility and the emotional engagement of the faithful. Finally, the study demonstrates how devotional images operate within a system of shared cultural codes, establishing a connection between the material and immaterial dimensions of sacred representation