The Church of Sant’Agostino

Immaculate Conception

The issue of the Immaculate Conception was particularly dear to Saint Augustine, who on several occasions maintained and defended Mary’s physical and divine motherhood as well as her virginity. This theme is the subject of the painting over the third altar on the left in the nave. In this work, painted in 1671 by the baroque artist Carlo Maratta, Our Lady is shown according to the traditional iconography of the Immaculate Conception. Mary wears a white dress, emblem of absolute purity; on her head is a crown of twelve stars, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. Her feet rest on a globe, the Earth, threatened by the serpent but defended by the Virgin. On the sides of the painting are Saint Francis of Sales and Saint Thomas of Villanova, one of the most famous Augustinian saints for his devotion to Our Lady. Saint Thomas also has his own altar in the church, decorated with two paintings by Raffaello Vanni, made in 1664.