Zaccaria Cross: Byzantine Treasure of the Genoa Cathedral
The Zaccaria Cross is a Byzantine reliquary that is part of the treasure of Genoa Cathedral in Italy. The artifact has a complex history that brought it from the East to become one of the most important items of the Republic of Genoa, in Italy.
A rich reliquary cross in the Genoa cathedral.
Today, the artifact appears as a gilded silver cross of a height of 54 centimeters. It is fixed on a pedestal which is not a Byzantine craftwork but was executed in Genoa in the 15th century to allow the cross to be used in processions.
The front contains, set into its center, the fragments of the cross (supposedly of Christ). They are visible under the rock crystal that covers them. The cross design appears graceful; it is edged with a nearly 300-pearl interrupted cord, and richly studded with 57 precious stones (rubies, emeralds, sapphires, carnelians, malachites, amethysts) and 44 larger pearls delicately set in metal.
The back presents five medallions with the bust effigies, in repoussé, of Christ, the Virgin, the two archangels Michael and Gabriel, and finally Saint John the Evangelist, the patron of the Church of Ephesus. All their names are inscribed in Greek next to the effigies. The attitudes are full of grace. It also has an inscription which reads:
“Bardas had this divine instrument made, Isaac, the high priest of Ephesus, had it restored when it had been degraded by time.”
Thanks to this inscription, we can deduce grossly the history of the artifact during the Byzantine era.
A cross from the 9th Century.
It is generally accepted that the Bardas of the inscription is probably the famous Caesar Bardas, regent of the empire for his nephew Michael III from 842 until his death in 866.
Two other significant Bardas have marked the Byzantine history in the 10th century: Bardas Phocas and Bardas Sclerus, but if they had commissioned the work, it is probable that the inscription would have mentioned their family name.
It is possible that Bardas commissioned the cross during his time as regent. This could explain the richness of the object. The reasons for which the cross was originally made are unknown.
A deep rework in the 13th century.
At some point, the reliquary was donated to the church of saint John in Ephesus, one of the most prestigious see in Asia Minor, and became certainly one of its most precious items. While we don’t know when it occured, Ephesus came under the control of the Seljuks between 1090 and 1097 before returning to the sphere of Byzantine domination. It is therefore probable that the cross became part of the archbishops’ treasure after this date.
The inscription mentions that the item decayed with time. In the 13th century, the archbishop Isaac has it reworked, and at this occasion engraved with the inscription. It is probable that the present appearance of the cross comes from this time.
Isaac lived under the rule of the basileus Michel Paleologos, and was his spiritual director. He had an important role as an ambassador to the pope and opposed John Bekkos, the chartophylax of the patriarch of Constantinople and a prominent advocate of union between the Eastern and Western Churches.. He could have become archbishop of Ephesus when Nicephore was designated in 1260 patriarch of Constantinople. He was dead in 1288. Therefore, the cross would have been remade between these two dates.
From Ephesus to the Zaccarias.
How did the artifact come to Genoa?
In the 13th and 14th centuries, a powerful family from the city, the Zaccarias, holds several possessions in the eastern part of the Mediterranean sea. The Zaccarias are allied to the Paleologos, the ruling family of the Niceae empire, which manages to reclaim Constantinople in 1261. They rule over the island of Chios, hosting the monastery of the Nea Moni and its famous mosaics, but also on Phocaea, at the time called Foglia and divided in two towns, Foglia Vecchia and Foglia Nuova.
But in 1308, the Seljuks are pressuring the eastern border of the Byzantine empire. Despite the temporary setbacks that they experience agains the Catalan band, they manage to seize and plunder Ephesus. At that time, the city is the shadow of what it once was, but it is still a significant religious center. The Turks pawn the loot of part of it in Phocaea to obtain wheat.
The same year, Ticino Zaccaria takes Foglia. He finds there a treasure, including three relics of saint John Theologos, which were coming from his grave in the metropolitan church of Ephesus. Among these relics, one was probably the Zaccaria cross. Here is how Ramon Muntaner, a firsthand witness, describes the item:
“The first, a piece of the true cross that my lord Saint John the Evangelist himself removed, with his own hand, from the true cross and from the very place where Jesus Christ had rested his precious head; and this piece of the True Cross was richly set in gold and surrounded by precious stones of immense value. You would hardly believe me if I told you about all the precious things that adorned it; and all of it was suspended from a small gold chain that my lord Saint John always wore around his neck.”
One of the Cathedral of Genoa’s most important sacred treasures.
After the Zaccarisa had lost their holdings in the East, they came back to Genoa, bringing back the cross with them. As soon as in 1466, they had given it to the cathedral of Genoa.
The cross had become a highly venerated object in Genoa. It was once displayed during certain ceremonies for the piety of the faithful. On certain feast days, especially May 3, it was carried in procession through the streets of the city. It was even the privilege of a confraternity of young nobles. This confraternity had a pedestal made for the cross in 1466, in order to better adapt it to processions.
It is now displayed in the cathedral’s museum, where it is one of the most prized exhibits. It is also still exhibited in the cathedral on Good Friday.
The Zaccaria Cross is not only a masterpiece of Byzantine art, but also a symbol of the rich history and cultural heritage of Genoa and its connections to the wider Mediterranean world.
