Series | Eurasian Studies
Edited book | L’arte armena e oltre. Nuovi contributi
Chapter | Gli arredi armeni di Betlemme: per un approccio storico-artistico allo ‘status quo’
Gli arredi armeni di Betlemme: per un approccio storico-artistico allo ‘status quo’
Abstract
The present paper proposes an art-historical approach to the dynamics of the ‘status quo’ in the Palestinian holy sites, with a focus on the centuries-long, gradual appropriation by the Armenians of some spaces near and within Bethlehem’s Nativity church: namely, the structure adjoining the south-west corner of the church, the north transept, and the holy cave. Emphasis is laid on the ways in which décors, in the form of paintings, icons, curtains and textiles, liturgical implements, lamps, ceramic eggs, inscriptions, and even neon signs, came to play a role in manifesting each of the three ruling communities’ claims for hegemony in and control of the locus sanctus.
Submitted: April 6, 2022 | Accepted: Oct. 17, 2022 | Published July 28, 2023 | Language: it
Keywords Bethlehem • Armenian community in Palestine • Status quo • Nativity Church • Décors
Copyright © 2023 Michele Bacci. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-694-7/001
