Art and Material Culture of the Aragonese Community in Rome (1350–1522)

Isabel Ruiz Garnelo

The PhD thesis, concluded in 2022, is centered on the architecture, art, and material culture of the subjects of the Crown of Aragon residing in Rome between 1350 and 1522. The focus lies on the two medieval hospitals of Saint Nicholas and Saint Margaret catalanorum, both founded by female benefactors, Jacoba Ferrandis and Margarita Pauli, and later merged and taken over by the confraternity of Santa Maria di Monserrato established in 1506. Construction work for a representative church, located between today’s Via di Monserrato and Via Giulia, started in 1518.
This study adds new elements to what is known about the multicultural society of early modern Rome and its impact on art and culture within the city and the wider Mediterranean context. The thesis not only reconstructs the whereabouts, appearance, and functions of two medieval hospices, but also analyzes the wealth of artworks and decorated utensils used by charitable institutions, such as paintings, statues, funerary monuments, but also liturgical objects, textiles, coats of arms, and emblems.
Most of these objects have not survived until the present day, but are extensively documented in archival sources. The records of their existence, use, and appearance bear witness to the role of material culture in the representation of early modern collective identities. The thesis, accepted by the University of Valencia, was supervised by Mercedes Gómez-Ferrer Lozano and co-supervised by Susanne Kubersky-Piredda.