Miraculous Icons in Dalmatia

Dalmatia has been recognized as a contact zone between the East and the West with many icons still preserved and venerated in its churches and many of them have been considered miraculous. They have contributed to various cases and types of healing or salvation in various kinds of peril. These icons developed individual private or collective devotion through prayers and other forms of veneration. Dalmatian icons, mostly devoted to the Virgin and Child, date from the 13^th to 19^th or 20^th centuries and demonstrate various artistic styles and characteristics of different schools. They have been subjected to various alterations through repainting, the addition of votive offerings and reverential crowning and modern restoration that aimed at their “original condition”. Apart from being objects of worship and cult, the icons convey political significance as the protectors and guardians of cities and communities. The paper discusses several icons, their style, history and status within a broader historical, social and political context.