Sante Donne

"In the popular and devotional iconographic tradition, the female saints are almost never empty-handed: their image is often associated with an object, an instrument, a tool. To the extent that popular devotion recognises them as “protectors” of specific professional categories (such as ophthalmologists or dyers, scribes or musicians...), they need their transitional objects which guarantee and certify their protective “specialisation”."

The book Sante Donne brings together different interpretations of saints and their attributes by important female Italian illustrators, in an entirely female project. Called to interpret the female icons and reinterpret their traditional iconographic representations are: Anna and Elena Balbusso, Nicoletta Ceccoli, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Sara Fanelli, Gabriella Giandelli, Emanuela Ligabue, Fulvia Mendini, Valeria Petrone, Elena Xausa and Olimpia Zagnoli.

The book, whose format recalls small holy pictures and breviaries, in addition to the illustrations and stories of the chosen saints, also contains interviews with the artists on their relationships with these religious figures and on the role of saints in the popular imagination.

This book has been created within the scope of W. Women in Italian Design, the ninth edition of the Triennale Design Museum, 2 April 2016 - 19 February 2017