Il dono alla patria. Ercole Ferrata, il crocifisso eburneo di Pellio Intelvi e la tradizione ferratesca in Lombardia

Ercole Ferrata (Pellio di Sotto, Como, 1610 - Rome, 1686) was an important sculptor in Seventeenth-century Rome, following two protagonists such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Alessandro Algardi. The eight wooden sculptures from Ferrata’s studio, deposited by his heirs in the parish church of San Michele in Pellio di Sotto and now displayed in the Museum of Scaria Intelvi since 1966, testify to the strong and lasting bond with the native valley. In his will, drawn up in 1685, the sculptor ordered the materials of his studio to be intended for the public benefit and, above all, of his homeland. To these eight small wooden sculptures, we can now add an ivory Crucifix, mentioned in pastoral visits in the Nineteenth century, then forgotten and considered missing, which is proposed here to be recognized in the one mentioned in the inventory of the sculptor’s house, particularly in his bedroom, where Ferrata died in 1686. Therefore, the Crucifix and the eight models are testimonies of an exceptional human and artistic experience; they offer the opportunity not only to reconsider the history of the dispersion of Ferrata’s studio, but also to better understand its organization, then to measure Ferrata’s long legacy in Lombard sculpture between Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries.