Political Hagiotopography : St. John of Nepomuk in Istria and Croatian Littoral

Sv. Ivan Nepomuk češki je svetac čije se čašćenje proširilo u XVIII. stoljeću nakon kanonizacije (1729.). Njegovo čašćenje naročito su promicali vladari Habsburške Monarhije u sklopu pobožnosti poznatih kao pietas austriaca. Osim uobičajenog ikonografskog značenja sveca, na području koje je bilo pod vlašću Habsburgovaca sv. Ivan Nepomuk imao je i političko značenje te je neformalno označavao granice habsburškog teritorija. Ovaj se rad bavi isključivo javnim skulpturama sv. Ivana Nepomuka postavljenima na području Istre i Hrvatskog primorja koji su pripadali području Monarhije. Na temelju dostupne literature i terenskog istraživanja, pruža pregled poznatih javnih skulptura sv. Ivana Nepomuka u Istri i Hrvatskom primorju kao važan primjer političke hagiotopografije. Uvodni dio govori o ikonografiji i hagiografiji ovoga sveca, donoseći informacije o stvarnim događajima i legendi koja okružuje sv. Ivana Nepomuka. U pregledu čašćenja sv. Ivana Nepomuka objašnjeni su glavni razlozi širenja njegova kulta. Oni se nezaobilazno moraju sagledati iz političke perspektive; od utjecaja odluka donesenih tijekom Tridentskoga sabora do važnosti koje je sv. Ivan Nepomuk imao kao dio pobožnih praksi koje su promicali vladari Habsburške Monarhije. Bitnu su ulogu u širenju pobožnosti prema sv. Ivana Nepomuka imali su također i isusovci. Iako je o sv. Ivanu Nepomuku u istraživanju drugih hrvatskih područja pisano, o spomenicima navedenima u radu ne postoji istraživanje u kojem su objedinjeni kao cjeloviti korpus, nego su dosada napravljene samo pojedinačne studije i pregledi. Najveći dio rada posvećen je kataloškoj obradi javnih skulptura sveca uz slikovne priloge. Posljednji dio rada donosi zaključak izveden na temelju kataloške obrade i poznavanja svečeve povijesti i ikonografskog prikazivanja, pri čemu je u obzir uzeto i njegovo političko značenje.St. John of Nepomuk is a Czech saint whose veneration spread in the 18th century after his canonization (1729). The importance of the saint was especially acknowledged by the rulers of the Habsburg Monarchy as a part of devotions known as pietas austriaca. Apart from the usual iconographic meaning of the saint, in the area that was under the rule of the Habsburgs, St. John of Nepomuk also had political significance and informally marked the borders of the Habsburg territory. This Master’s Thesis focuses exclusively on public sculptures of St. John of Nepomuk in Istria and the Croatian Littoral, the territory that belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy. Based on the available literature and field research, the Master’s Thesis provides an overview of the known public sculptures of St. John of Nepomuk in Istria and the Croatian Littoral as an important part of political hagiotopography. The introductory part talks about the iconography and hagiography of the saint, providing information about historical events and the legend surrounding St. John of Nepomuk. Main reasons for the spread of his cult are explained in the overview of the veneration of St. John of Nepomuk. They must inevitably be seen from a political perspective; from the impact of the decisions made during the Council of Trent to the importance St. John of Nepomuk had as part of pious practices promoted by the rulers of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Jesuits also played an important role in spreading the cult of St. John of Nepomuk. Although St. John of Nepomuk had been the topic of research in other parts of Croatia, there is no research on the monuments mentioned in the Thesis in which they are united as a complete corpus. So far only individual studies and reviews have been made. The largest part of the Thesis is devoted to the catalogue description of the public sculptures of the saint, complemented by pictorial contributions when possible. The final part of the Master’s Thesis draws a conclusion based on the catalogue description and understanding of the saint’s history and iconographic representation, all while taking into account his political significance