Carla Bino, Theatrum Pietatis. Azione e rappresentazio-ne per la societas christianorum

What does ‘theatre of mercy’ mean? Is it a dramatic form of Christian tradition? Is it a particular kind of literary or poetic text? Or is it a show that has to do with sorrow, compassion, mercy? This article aims to give an answer to these questions. The first part is a theorical analysis around the principles of the ‘revolution of the sight’ effected by Christianity: I will show that mercy is a posture, an attitude, closely connected to the concept of proximity. In the second part of this essay I will identify two historical turning points of that posture and its embodiment in some devotional practices known as ‘theatre of mercy’. I read them as particular forms of the anti-spectacular representations of the passion of Christ that were functional to develop social relationships of mutual support and care between human beings.