Madonna of the Street

                       
I am sure you have all seen this painting sometime in your life. It is known as the ‘Madonna of the Street,’ ‘The Madonna of Rest,’ and also simply as ‘the Madonna of Ferruzzi,’ the name of the artist. The painting was made in 1896 by the painter Roberto Ferruzzi (1853-1934). The story of how it came about is quite striking. In Luvigliano, Angelina Cian, still eleven years old, was noticed by a painter, holding her little brother in her arms. The artist was struck by the beauty and candor of the scene, and decided to make a portrait of it, an oil on canvas which he titled "the Gypsy". With it, the author won the second Venice Biennale in 1897, in which he participated with the intent of representing a "Maternity". Thanks to the extraordinary expressive sweetness, the painting had an enormous popular success, so much so that the second name of "Maternity" was changed, by popular acclaim, to "Madonnina". The work was purchased for 30,000 lire, an astronomical figure for those times. The Alinari brothers, owners of the well-known photographic house, also bought the painting. However, before reselling it, they reserved the right of reproduction of any kind. Unfortunately, traces of the original have been lost. Purchased by an American during the Second World War, it seems to have perished with the sinking of the ship that transported it to America. Some argue because of a storm, others because of the torpedoing of the Germans. We know of this masterpiece thanks to the photographic reproductions of the Alinari Brothers, who made it known to us in a thousand reproductions. Angelina Cian (the mother), in 1906, married to Antonio Bovo, emigrated to the United States of America to look for a job. She eventually entered a convent and became a nun.

Detail of Ferruzzi's lost painting of the Madonna.

Then in 1984, in California, the mother in the picture, Sister Angelina Bovo, who was orphaned at an early age, wanted to know more about her parents, their country of origin and the reasons for their emigration to America in Oakland, California. She obtained permission from her superiors to travel to Italy to research her origins. Two elderly aunts, her mother's sisters, were alive: 88-year-old Aunt Elisa and 80-year-old Aunt Giulia. Aunt Giulia took her to visit the family home, the one where her mother grew up in Luvigliano. In one room there was a painting, the reproduction of the Madonna by Ferruzzi. "This Madonna is your mother," says Aunt Giulia. "I know," replied the nun, expressing faith in the Madonna, Mother of all believers.