Medieval Sanctuaries and Miraculous Images and Relics: Tracing the Gaze through Eye Trackers

This article is part of the research activities of the PNRR ITSERR project, which seeks to apply new digital technologies to religious studies. Specifically focusing on gaze studies, we utilised Aria eye trackers provided by Meta to the team of computer engineers at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), with whom this study is being carried out. These devices can record the gaze of users who wear them, as well as identify the objects or spatial elements being observed, the user’s location, and the duration of their focus. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the article explores the application of this technology to Catholic sacred spaces, specifically two sanctuaries in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines: the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bismantova (Reggio Emilia) and that of Saints Pellegrino and Bianco in Alpe (Modena). By observing and analysing the gaze patterns of ten users – varying in age, profession, and religious orientation – the study examines how individuals engage with these sacred contexts, with particular attention to the Marian image and the relics of the saints.