ALFAEDO – the Wall Madonna of Gotardo Borellini

MADONNA OF THE DAY! Another Alfaedo Wall Madonna for you! My fresco finding skills have definitely improved as I now know that I must search between rows of old houses. Alfaedo has one main street and on the valley side there is one row of houses. On the mountain side though there is a double row. In between those homes were the old front doors to what were often only one-room homes. Frescoes generally blessed the entry to those old homes. Here on the second story of an antique home is where I found this gorgeous Wall Madonna – a depiction of the Mater Dolorosa – Mother of Sorrows or Grieving Mother. She was dedicated in 1893 by Gottardo Borelini. San Gottardo is the patron saint of Alfaedo. Perhaps Gotardo’s parents named him thus for luck! Enjoy this beautiful fresco and have a great day! I am off to Caino and Vercana for new photos! Baci e Abbracci!

A closer view to show the dedication – the owner who paid for the fresco to show his devotion to his faith. I searched Google for Gotardo Borelini and found his father and him on the ancestry website Geni. I uploaded some photos of the fresco and emailed the relative who manages the family tree. I am so excited to share these photos! To note – the surname on the Geni website spells the surname – Borellini. The tombstones in the cemetery, also, use Borellini. Hence, one has to assume the fresco contains an error by the artist or poor planning where the artist ran out of space. I think he made an error though since there is no lack of space. Here is what I found: Gotardo’s parents were Giuseppe and Teresa Libera. Giuseppe Borellini, husband of Teresa Libera, was born in Alfaedo in 1839 or 1840. The Geni website lists 1840 but his tombstone lists his age at death as 79 in 1918. He died June 13, 1918. His wife died August 26, 1915 at age 73.

I did not look for Gotardo Borellini in the cemetery and will have to return. I have this photo of his father’s tombstones strictly by chance. The Geni website states that Giuseppe and Teresa had three children: Rosa Sabina, Gotardo, and Felice. Gotardo was born September 26, 1888. Hence he was only 5 years old when this fresco was dedicated. There is no death listed so I will have to return to search the cemetery. In fact, I will do that today! I wonder if Gotardo’s parents dedicated this fresco – Mother of Sorrow – to their child who died young. I will find out and update this blog!

A larger view so that one can see how near to the entry door she was placed. Likely this home was reached by a ladder as internal staircases did not exist in general. On the bottom of the fresco is clearly visible the Latin inscription: MATER DOLOROSA – Grieving Mother or more commonly – Mother of Sorrow

A less artistic view of the fresco to show you the deteriorating condition of the homes and surrounding, semi-attached homes.

This photo shows the narrow street that opened to a wider area which allowed access to the upper level homes by ladders. The arrow indicates – as best it can – the location of the fresco.