A miraculous intervention by the statue of the Madonna del Monte, ex voto. Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte, Genoa, 19th century. Photograph by Dr Gervase Rosser and Dr Jane Garnett.

An original and unusual exhibition on the phenomenon of the miraculous image is now open in Oxford.

The Spectacular Miracles presents images of statues and pictures believed to have supernatural powers. Reportedly the first of its kind to be held in Britain, the exhibition will run until January 29 2006 at the Ashmolean Museum.

The artefacts captured in photographs taken by Dr Gervase Rosser, an external curator to the Ashmolean, and Dr Jane Garnett, date from the 16th to 20th century and come from a variety of shrines in and near the city of Genoa, Northern Italy.

Genoa was selected primarily as a good place for research but also because this city of finance, industry and socialism is seen as more closely associated with the industrial cities of northern Europe than the more devout locations of the southern hemisphere.

The Madonna della Fortuna, formerly the prow of a ship now at the Church of San Carlo and San Vittore, Genoa, 17th century. Photograph by Dr Gervase Rosser and Dr Jane Garnett.

The exhibtion takes the form of a shrine built within one of the galleries. Visitors are invited to walk around it and look through windows at each of the 40 images on display.

Half the photographs are of reportedly miraculous images and statues, the other half are ex voto, images given to a church or chapel to represent a disaster - averted thanks to the intervention of the Madonna or saint worshipped in that place.

“What we are trying to do is intrigue the visitor,” said Dr Gervase Rosser, “especially here in England where, going back to Protestantism and enlightenment, there is a worry about pictures.”

Devotees (including flagellants) praying before the Madonna dell'Orto in a garden outside Chiavari in 1610. Painting, early 18c., in the modern cathedral of Chiavari. Photograph by Dr Gervase Rosser and Dr Jane Garnett.

The Madonna della Fortuna, formerly the prow of a wrecked ship, was salvaged by sailors who turned the figure into a cult object. People today still cast out demons from each other in front of this statue.

Also amongst the 40 images on display are the Madonna dell’Orto – from a fresco circa 1500 - which reportedly cured a midwife’s son and caused mayhem amongst the authorities of Genoa, the Archbishop, the patricians and the wealthy of Chiavari. They eventually got the picture housed in a church.

Each image has a cardholder below it, printed with a copy of the image and a short story on the back taken from archives relating to that image. The audience is invited to take a card that holds particular ‘resonance’ home with them.

There is still a popular belief that a copy of a miraculous picture or statue is imbued with the same supernatural potency as the original. Yet, the Catholic Church remains ambivalent about these manifestations of popular visual piety, which are difficult to monitor and control.

The Madonna dell'Orto, fresco c.1500. Now in the sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Orto, also the cathedral of Chiavari. Photograph by Dr Gervase Rosser and Dr Jane Garnett.

Italians emigrating from the Port of Genoa commissioned copies of their favourite image to take with them, whether from Naples emigrating to New York or Genoese emigrating to South America, and these countries have adopted this form of worship from them.

Dr Gervase Rosser said: “According to the wardens of the museum, there are going to be a lot of visitors as it is generating a lot of interest. We’re very pleased with that.”