The ‘Sacra Absentia’ database on the lost furnishings of medieval churches in Venice: from the overall framework to the case study of Sant’Agnese.

The ‘Sacra Absentia’ project, led by Simone Piazza (PI) with Giulia Anna Bianca Bordi (research fellow), is part of the PNRR (2022-2025) within the CHANGES program, Spoke 8, at University Ca’ Foscari Venice. This study examines medieval and early modern pilgrims’ accounts of Venice’s religious heritage, informing the cataloguing and spatial reconstruction of lost or recontextualized liturgical furnishings. An online database georeferences these ob- jects using contemporary maps and Jacopo de’ Barbari’s 1500 Venice view. A case study on Sant’Agnese, integrating published and unpublished sources, demonstrates the methodology’s effectiveness in uncovering new historical insights.