This Easter, we can think about the Virgin Mary, Christianity’s venerated mother of Jesus, the Mother of God, who is said to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries.
In these ex-votos (ex voto suscepto, “from the vow made”) from late 19th to early 20th Century Liguria, Italy, the Virgin Mary appears at scenes depicting people falling from buildings, scaffoldings or trees. A cynic might be suspicious of her presence at the scene of every accident, but they’d need to overlook the key part of each story to make their case – all the fallers survive and go on to give praise. You can see a selection from Mexico here.
A bricklayer falls from the roof. September 3, 1898
A worker falls from scaffolding. May 3, 1913
Man falling from a tree, ex voto – 860.
Man falls from balcony. October 15, 1874
Man falls from balcony. March 24, 1929
Child falls from a window. Nineteenth century
Worker falls from a window. September 27, 1928
A little girl falls from seventh floor. July 14, 1879
Man falls from tree. Eighteenth century
Man falls from a ladder. January 23, 1875 (
Two children falling from a tree. February 13, 1892
A man falls into a mill. September 28, 1888
Two brothers falling into the water-wheel
Via: Chauldron
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