Objects tell another story. Gift given to the monastery in Fara in Sabina by Cardinal Barberini

Objects tell another story. Gifts given to the monastery in Fara in Sabina by Cardinal Barberini Francesca Sbardella Objects are a precious source to trace other stories, finding out events, situations and persons from an inner and community perspective. Usually, the same situations remain unknown in the official historiographic literature. The aim of the present paper is to reconsider some moments in the history of the Fara monastery in Sabina (Rieti, central Italy) beginning with some objects that are housed in the abbey itself (e.g. paintings, statues, furnishings, remains, and relics), part of which were donated by Cardinal Barberini. By analyzing individual items, it has been possible to start putting together unknown fragments of history, and to advance hypotheses on religious policies and practices. The official sources found in archives are thus combined with new, private, informal sources preserved within cloistered life. Such sources include the objects themselves, but also the words, the narratives, the memories, and all the writings produced by the nuns on a daily basis with reference to those objects (loose notes, records, community chronicles and diaries, letters). In particular, they cast light on the relationship between Cardinal Barberini and Francesca Farnese (1597-1651), who had built that monastery, and also on Barberini’s strategic plans. Cardinal Barberini, through the objects, remains and words sent to the abbey, imposed a sort of direction to the nuns of that monastery, leading them towards a specific religious identity of a Franciscan-Clarist nature. The paper is complemented by a short photographic report (of F. Sbardella), illustrating the different types of objects: a piece of white cloth and veil attributed to Francesca Farnese; a ceramic cup; cushions decorated with the image of St. Hyacintha Mariscotti (in Italian Giacinta Marescotti); fabric remains and hair strands attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and hair strands attributed to St. Clare; a painting representing the Friars Minor’s family tree (on which some patches were glued to make modifications); a coloured wooden statue (h 29 cm) representing Our Lady of Providence.