Art in the Genoese Colonies on the Black Sea (in the 13-15th c.)

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22. National Historical-Archeological Museum „ Chersonesus Taurica ”, Madonna and Child,
wall painting (14th century?) from Cembalo fortress
recent years they have been painted over). Tiny fragments of mural paintings have also
survived in the Church of St. Sergius in Caffa.92
Fragments of panel paintings have survived until the present day exclusively in vestig-
ial form. On the whole, one may speak of only a single example of a preserved icon of Our
Lady dating back to the 14th c. (fig. 23) which ultimately found its way to Museo di Sant’
Agostino Bianco in Genoa. The painting, currently known as Madonna di Pera, comes
from a Benedictine church of S. Antonio di Pre in Genoa.93 It found its way there either in
1486 when a certain number of items from the Latin churches in Pera were transferred to
this church, or else after 1486 when the above-mentioned Benedictine monastery of Santa
Maria della Misericordia in Pera became subordinated to the monastery of S. Antonio in
Genoa.94 In turn, after the closure of the Church of S. Antonio in 1891, the painting was
transferred to Palazzo Bianco and became part of the city art collection.95
Up until the second half of the 19th c. in the Genoese Dominican church of Santa Maria
di Castello, there was yet another Madonna, known as Madonna di Pera (fig. 24), a Byz-
antine icon in a silver dress, in all likelihood executed in 1383 and transferred to this
92 DOMBROVSKIJ, Freski srednevekovogo Kryma... (see n. 35), pp. 59-68, 70-74.
93 Michele CORDARO, „Relazione di restauro del dipinto del sec. XIV: Madonna col Bambino - Genova, Galleria di
Palazzo Bianco”, Bollettino dei Musei civici genovesi, 6, 1984, p. 5.
94 POLONIO, „Santa Maria della Misericordia...” (see n. 73), p. 420; Laura TAGLIAFERRO, ,,L’‘Eleusa’ di Pera
a Genova”, Bollettino dei Musei civici genovesi, Anno 6, 1984, pp. 8, 11-22 (fig. 1-11).
95 BELGRANO, Document! riguardanti... (see n. 16), p. 395; POLONIO, „A Genova tra XIV e XV secolo...” (see n.
27), pp. 130, 133; TAGLIAFERRO, „L’Tleusa’ di Pera...” (see n. 94), pp. 7-10.