It is very common to hear about the history of photography, but there are few references to the myth of the image.
Catholic tradition reminds us of the legend of Veronica as the main representative of photography. It was she who, when she met Christ on the Way to Calvary, approached him and wiped his face with a towel.
This scene was perpetuated in the sixth station of Via-crucis with Veronica showing the image of the face of Christ that was printed on her towel. An alleged “Veronica veil” has been preserved in the church of Saint Peter, in Rome, since the 8th century.
Thus, we have news of the hypothetical first printed image (photograph) in history.
But not the first, the prototypical, acheiropoeton or non manufactum, without the hand, which Hans Belting situates “before the Age of Art”.
The poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) also mentions Veronica's veil in the Divine Comedy, in the XXXI corner of Paradise (Verses 103-111).
The “veil of Veronica” is considered a true miracle!

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