Wooden Crucifix of the Suffragio Church
It is an anonimous work which presumably dates back to the 14th century. It came from the Minor Convent Friars church in Old Cervia, and it was moved to the present location between the 17th and 18th century.
It is a pathosful sculpture of Christ on the cross, with a thin, stretched body and a skinny face. The opened eyes are looking upwards, but they seem to be looking downwards for the skilful dark-light effects that give a sense of death.
The iconographic details are not the typical ones of the Italian style, instead of the German one, particulary of the 14th century Renan school, identified under the name of "painful Gothic", where the pain itself makes the main difference to the classic, more popular Italian crucifixes, giving the work a strong dramatic power.
This Crucifix is of remarkable interest, not only for its undoubted artistic value, but also for its meaning inside the religious community of Cervia.
According to the legend, it was found by some fishermen on the beach and it used to be carried in procession in Forlì on 4th February every year, during the celebrations of the Madonna of the Fire (Madonna del Fuoco), the protector of that town and of the fishermen and saltworkers as well.
Where: Corso Giuseppe Mazzini 20, Cervia
Accessibility
Partially accessible for disabled
Official Tourist Information Site of Cervia