Saints Nicholas and Roch Imploring the Aid of the Virgin

There is disagreement over the exact identification of the saints in Pietro Testa’s print. Although originally identified as Saints Nicholas and Roch (the latter one of the principal saints invoked against plague), Testa is likely referring here to three local saints from Lucca. Testa includes a reference to his native city in the towers of the Case dei Guinigi that appear in the distance. He probably had in mind the local patron saints Martin, Theodor, and Paulinus.

The print captures the urgency and horror felt during the plague epidemic of 1630–31. Communal petitions to Mary and the saints to intercede with Christ so that he would no longer avenge the people’s sins were widely orchestrated by local civic and religious authorities. Details of the scene, such as the child on the bridge holding his nose, not only allude to the corpses below, but tie the scene directly to symptoms of plague, in which oozing buboes cause a foul stench. Religious processions with painted banners, public prayers, and petitions were regular features of civic plague prevention.