ABSTRACT
The Volto Santo is a wooden crucifix presently preserved in the Cathedral of Lucca. The legends about the Volto Santo evoked metaphorical space—a realm of narrative practices where relationships between distant places are created and the experiences are mediated by the imagination. According to the stories about its origins, the Volto Santo belongs to the category of acheiropoietoi—images made without the human hand. In the case of the Volto Santo the distance was reduced primarily because of the privileged position of its maker, Nicodemus, who was able to touch the dead body of Christ. The conditions of access to the actual statue shaped the physical space—the realm of the artefact and the flesh where the embrace is experienced sensually. The attention paid to the spatial arrangement and to the decoration emphasizes the significance of Lucca as a place of the exceptional meeting with the true image of Christ.
