Abstract

This essay aims at unveiling the political meaning of a late fourteenth century fresco in the church of St George of Lemine, in the north of Bergamo. Despite the religious iconographic theme (St George and the dragon, Madonna and Child who is learning to read, and St Alexander), it concerns a political allegory: concord among the Guelph and Ghibelline factions. And here lies the painting's interest: whereas the sources usually convey some voices on the factions (those of the jurists, preachers, officials), this fresco allows us to hear the voices of the factions themselves, and especially their ideals of political coexistence.