La Santa Croce dei Lucchesi a Genova: l'immagine di un Volto Santo perduto

This paper deals with the spread of the culto of the Volto Santo in Genoa, within the community of the Lucchese silk-weavers, which from the 13th century had Santa Croce di Sarzano as its own 'national church'. In particular, it aim to ascertain the peculiar iconographic featuresof the wooden crucifix first venerated thereand then moved to the nearby, bigger church of Saont'Agostino/Santa Tecla, in a chapel set up in ther 16th century. According to some textual and iconographic documents, we may now affirm that it was a faithful (but how ancient?) copy of the tunicate crucifix, well known as the Volto Santo, still preserved in the Cathedral of Lucca