Madonna della Vittoria

The church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Via Fernelli in Mantua is a small Renaissance construction, with some Gothic elements. Its history is complex and almost novelistic. It housed a masterpiece by Andrea Mantegna. It also displays a series of traces of popular faith, and the desire of a prince to publicly thank the Virgin Mary. In it we can see some important pictorial decorations, which speak of the relationship between the court of Mantua and the local Jewish community. In fact, the Jewish banker Daniele Norsa was forced to knock down his house in order to make space for the church. This event was a consequence of the fact that the banker was very much hated by the population. According to people, in fact, he had taken down a sacred image from the exterior wall of the house in an act of disrespect of Catholic religion. The banker had actually not intended to offend the Christian cult, and had obtained a regular authorization from the authorities. Despite this, the people of Mantua began to torment the Jewish population of the city, as is depicted in a painting in St. Andrew’s Cathedral. It was the hermit monk Gerolamo Redini who suggested to build this votive church in the spot where Norsa’s property stood. And so, Francesco Gonzaga’s homage to the Virgin Mary, for having saved his life during the Fornovo battle, became a concrete place, made of bricks, plaster, and colour.