(con Paolo D'Achille) Oltre alle “pute” ci sono anche le “meretrici”. Una parola in volgare nella pittura romana medievale

This essay studies the identifying inscription Meretrici ‘prostitutes’, which appears on a medieval Roman painting housed in the Vatican Museums. This painting also features many other Latin inscriptions, all of which are reproduced. The analysis of the panel (which is signed) and of its context confirms that the work, and therefore its inscriptions, date back to the late 11th century (as proposed by many art historians). It also explains the use of the vernacular term meretrici, which can therefore be compared to the slightly later Inscription of San Clemente.