The heart of the usurer

Alfredo Pescante

In the sixth high relief behind the tomb of the Saint, does it not cause dismay that gash in the chest of the young usurer lying on his deathbed, a sign of the thaumaturgy of Saint Anthony that brings his heart to life in the chest? Marble, in its whiteness, effectively represents an important chapter in Anthony’s life: the fight against usurers, “genius who crushes the poor with his molar teeth”. The Saint here is pure Gospel, admonishing: “Where is your treasure, there is also your heart”. Tullio Lombardo, who as a great sculptor made the high relief (1525), fulfilled the wishes of the patrons: in fact, they knew that he would be able to impress the ranks of those who lent money to usury, then and now a widespread social scourge. This admirable group of characters reaches the heights of classical beauty: each one with mouth, eyes and arms interprets what happened, parading to testify “with redundancy of meaning of affection” (Pietro Selvatico). Antonio, with a youthful face, next to a friar, seems to say: “See if there is a heart in his chest! Three bearded men, after having carefully observed the inert body and even put their hand…