Una Roman D'Elia

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A sculpture of two saints meeting and embracing embodies the importance of touch in Renaissance culture as a form of devotion and ultimately a way to access the divine. (Renaissance Polychrome Sculpture in Tuscany database)

Belief in touch as salvation was stronger than fear of contagion in the Italian Renaissance

Una Roman D'Elia, Queen's University, Ontario

After a year of pandemic social distancing, we know touch is a much-desired privilege. In the Italian Renaissance, people longed to touch not only each other, but also religious sculptures.

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