I compagni di viaggio Tobia e Raffaele. Alcune precisazioni sull'iconografia di Raffaele arcangelo come 'protettore' e taumaturgo

The story of Raphael is linked to that of Tobias and is drawn from the deuterocanonical text of the Old Testament and the iconography of the archangel ' healer ' , in this survey, is inextricably linked to that of the young jew . The reason for the appeal to the intercession of Raphael is already in the meaning of his name that in Hebrew means "God heals " and the double role of divine guide and thaumaturge is recognized in the Judeo-Christian tradition too. He embodies in popular piety the model of ' " guardian angel " and is invoked as a protector of travel too, as well as those on the land, as well as those by sea. Here we are interested in the theme of the patronage accorded by the sick people in soul, because he fights and wins against the devil and by the people sick in the body due to its power of miracles especially to eye diseases. Raphael is represented as a winged young man without beard , with the halo , the dalmatic or old-fashioned cloth and which is mostly white color . Sometimes in the iconography, he is characterized with the attributes of the pilgrim namely: the staff , the purse and the canteen . The attributes of the Tobias and Raphael ' group ' are the little dog and the fish held one handed by the young jew. The emblem of Raphael's medical skills and miraculous capabilities are summarized by the metal box that the archangel often holds in his hands, like the more known "anargiri" saints Cosmas and Damian. And even if Raphael does not directly conduct the medical profession because, according to the holy texts, he transfer the matter to the young Tobias , he is characterizes in the iconography by the presence of the medical saints attributes.