Busts of Martyrs

Abstract

These four busts of martyrs, currently placed in what looks to be a later Baroque altar along with monstrances and an earlier crucifix, are housed in Santa Maria degli Angeli in Cassano delle Murge, which was in the Renaissance a church of the Observant Franciscans and a pilgrimage destination, due to the purportedly miraculous painting found in the fourteenth century following a priest's visions, in the ancient cave over which this church was built. At least three of the busts appears to bear the date 1502 on the base, and so these busts were likely made in the early sixteenth century, unless the inscription was repainted inaccurately in a later period. They appear to have containers for relics imbedded in the chests. The three inscriptions visible identify the figures as St. Credens, St. Maurus, and St. Antoninus of Rome. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.