Ante Vultum. Apports à l’étude de la fonction liturgique de la Sainte Face de Lucques en lien avec l’iconoclasme

The acheropite statue of the Holy Face of Lucca became the object of an intense cult that has come down to us. A list of altars (cod. 124 Biblioteca Capitolare) datable between 1071 and 1109, mentions an altar "ante vultum" and an altar "ante crucem veterem", interpreted as an older cross (Caleca et al.) whose cult had to be supplanted by that of the Holy Face. From this suggestion, in the early 2000s, a lively dispute arose around the hypothesis that the Holy Face preserved in the Cathedral of Sansepolcro was the ancient crucifix venerated by the people of Lucca who had sold it to the Biturgensi friars replacing it with a copy. The recent Carbon14 analyses, presented in June 2020, have called everything into question. If, according to stylistic analysis, the crucifix dates back to the Ottonian age (eleventh century), the Carbon 14 examination dates it back to the Carolingian age (VIII - IX century). This makes it possible to attest to the originality of the statue, which would therefore not be a copy of a previous copy. Among all the evaluations put in place, however, there remains an important factor still to be considered: the transformation of the liturgical use (Bacci) of which the statue was the protagonist and which can help to untangle the vexata quaestio. The intent of this contribution is to analyze the new dating not only in relation to the stylistic and scientific elements but also in function of the processes that gave the statue a real autonomy with respect to the ordinary liturgy, allowing the development of a specific cult that made the cathedral a real sanctuary, a hub of pilgrimages and power.