Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: From today's New York Times

Showering a Madonna With Affection, Not Devotion
By PETER DUFFY
Today, few remnants survive of the little Italian neighborhood that once
flourished in the section of the East Village bounded by Eighth Street,
14th Street, Avenue A and Second Avenue: Lanza's restaurant, Veniero's
Pastry Shop, De Robertis Pasticceria - and not much more.
But for the first several decades of the 20th century, the neighborhood was
not only dense with Sicilian immigrants, it also had its own protector.
Every year on her feast day, Sept. 8, the Black Madonna of Tindari was
paraded through the narrow streets. From their windows, people tossed down
dollar bills that were pinned to a ribbon on the statue, a 58-inch-tall
likeness of the Virgin Mary whose permanent home was in a tiny storefront
shrine at 447 East 13th Street.
<...>
But though the shrine that housed her no longer exists, she has not lost
her following. On Wednesday, a group of scholars, writers, artists and
musicians who are mostly Italian but not necessarily regular churchgoers
will use the feast day to gather at the former shrine, now a gay bar called
the Phoenix. The celebration may include poetry, music and socializing, but
will not be strictly religious, according to its organizer, Joseph Sciorra,
an assistant director of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute at
the City University of New York.
[That bar is where I went to play pool on Friday night, when my hands were
all sore from prickly-pear spines! I had never been there, but some of my
friends wanted to go. Talk about synchronicity!]
<...>
The origin of Black Madonnas are* the subject of much scholarly debate.
Some believe they are Christianized versions of pagan fertility goddesses
that were occasionally depicted as black. Others say that Black Madonna
statues were simply darkened by years of soot, while still others say the
images owe their darkness to Byzantine traditions.
Whatever her roots, scholarly and public interest in Black Madonnas has
blossomed over the last decade. Mr. Sciorra, who has done research on the
Black Madonna of Tindari, has assembled an informal group of scholars and
artists who see Black Madonnas as symbols of feminine strength, racial
harmony and spiritual power.
Stephanie Romeo, a photo researcher, novelist and self-described postmodern
Catholic who plans to attend the gathering on Wednesday, believes that the
Black Madonna connects her with her Sicilian peasant ancestors. To her, the
icon represents a tradition of spirituality rooted in folklore, empowered
by female essence, distrustful of clergy and unafraid of racial difference.
"I look at her," she said, "and I know that I am not alone."
*Note that this should be "the origin of Black Madonnas *is* the subject of
much scholarly debate." The NY Times ain't what it used to be! :)
***
[I wish I didn't have to work on Wednesday... I'd definitely attend this.]
-- 
Pear pea a chair, Ray. Core Reggie eel me oh eat alien, oh... :)
Joey DoWop, working on a temporary account.

 
There's a famous Black Madonna at the Oropa Sanctuary near where I live:
http://www.dimensionemagica.com/miti_leggende/italia_misteriosa/piemonte.jpg
According to this site, "E' noto che le Vergini Nere rappresentassero
anticamente Iside, la dea egizia patrona dell’alchimia, simbolo di
fertilità e di rinnovamento della Natura. La Chiesa, non riuscendo a
sopprimere un culto tanto radicato quanto antico, lo ha trasformato
nella venerazione per la Madre di Gesù."
http://www.dimensionemagica.com/miti_leggende/italia.htm
-- 
Mary

 There's a famous Black Madonna at the Oropa Sanctuary near where I live
One of the most famous must be the one in Loreto.
Bye, FB
-- 
Nasalization is just a part of life.
(Joey DoWop Dee on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese)

 
http://www.dimensionemagica.com/miti_leggende/italia.htm
Affascinante! Grazie, Mary


One of the most famous must be the one in Loreto.
There is also a Black Madonna in Switzerland:
http://www.kloster-einsiedeln.ch/webseite/english/abbey/e_gnadenkapelle.htm
If you want a webcam (you can see only the church though, not the
statue):
http://dsb.einsiedeln.ch/DSB_Anbieter_03_Shw.asp?Anbieter=17606&OrigAnbieter=17606&ShowNav=1&ShowSubNav=1&ShowTitle=1&KundenID=Einsiedeln-T&VKundenID=einsiedeln.ch&S=1&HG=7&PublisherID=Einsiedeln-T&NavigationLevel=0&L2Mnu=0&Mode=STANDARD&PM=5&Level=3&Branche=1256&NFP=00101#TOP
(Warning long URL)
'bye