Miracle of the Spring
The oval medallion at the top shows a haloed friar with one hand raised in address, birds in flight beside him — St. Francis Preaching to the Birds, one of the best-loved episodes from the Fioretti (“Little Flowers of St. Francis”), the collection of legends illustrating his renowned rapport with the natural world. No inscription accompanies it, but the iconography is unmistakable.
Below, the larger panel carries the inscription “O jacto milagroso de uma fonte” (“The miraculous jet of a spring”), naming the scene above it: the Miracle of the Spring. The composition is based on Giotto’s fresco of the same subject, part of his Legend of St. Francis cycle painted between 1297 and 1300 in the Upper Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, a landmark work of the Proto-Renaissance.
According to the legend, Francis was traveling through the countryside with his companion friars when he came upon a group of reapers, exhausted and thirsty from working under the scorching summer sun. Moved by compassion, he struck the dry ground, and a jet of fresh water miraculously gushed out for them to drink. The site associated with this tradition is known today as Fonte di San Francesco, later also called San Francescuccio, near Bastia Umbra in Italy.
In the tile panel, Francis kneels in prayer on rocky, mountainous terrain. Below him, a figure, presumably one of the reapers, is on all fours, drinking from the water flowing down the rocks. The two figures beside Francis are his companion friars, witnessing the miracle. Above, a reclining figure with one arm extended downward, accompanied by a small winged cherub, appears to oversee the scene.
Explore more about Capela das Almas
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– Capela das Almas de Santa Catarina: Official Plaque Placed by Porto City Council
Life of St. Francis of Assisi
– Capela das Almas: St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata
– Capela das Almas: St. Francis Embracing Christ on the Cross
– Capela das Almas: St. Francis Before Pope Honorius III
– Capela das Almas: St. Francis Performs the Miracle of the Spring
– Capela das Almas: The Death of St. Francis of Assisi
Life of St. Catherine of Alexandria
– Capela das Almas: The Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine
– Capela das Almas: The Martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria
– Capela das Almas: Debate, Victory, and Martyrdom — The Story of St. Catherine
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