San Francesco di Paola nelle arti decorative in Sicilia

Partendo dall’antica devozione nei confronti di San Francesco di Paola in Sicilia si analizzano le più significative opere d’arte decorativa dedicate al Santo Fondatore dell’Ordine dei Minimi. Dai busti o gruppi in terracotta, come quello della fine del XVI secolo attribuito a Vincenzo Gagini della chiesa palermitana a lui dedicata, alle sculture lignee, alle più rare e preziose opere di oreficeria o ornate con corallo.Starting from the ancient devotion to St. Francis of Paola in Sicily we analyze the most significant works of decorative art dedicated to the Holy Founder of the Order of Minims. From the busts or groups in terracotta, such as that of the late sixteenth century attributed to Vincenzo Gagini of the church dedicated to him in Palermo, to the wooden sculptures, the rarest and most precious works of goldsmith or decorated with coral

Il canonico Mondello e il Tesoro della Madonna di Trapani

Si analizza la figura del Canonico Mondello e il suo testo sul Tesoro della Madonna di Trapani, proponendo una selezione che privilegia principalmente le opere di produzione siciliana donate dai più illustri personaggi della nobiltà europea.It analyzes Canonico Mondello’s figure and his text about the Treasure of Trapani’s Madonna, proposing a selection that puts first the Sicilian works donated by the most eminent personalities of the european aristocracy

Il Museo Diocesano di Palermo

La storia e le collezioni del Museo Diocesano di Palermo analiticamente presentate con frequenti rimandi ai precedenti allestimenti ed ai contesti di provenienza delle opere esposte. La rassegna dei manufatti segue l'attuale percorso museologico di cui l'autrice è anche curatrice scientific

Apparati effimeri e arti decorative: carri di trionfo in corallo

L’articolo illustra le profonde connessioni tra gli apparati effimeri con carri trionfali realizzati in occasione dei Festini di Santa Rosalia tra la fine del XVII e l’inizio del XVIII secolo a Palermo, disegnati dai famosi Architetti del Senato Paolo e Giacomo Amato, e la parallela produzione di superbi carri di trionfo in corallo. Vengono analizzate opere custodite non soltanto in musei e in collezioni private siciliane, ma anche nel resto d’Italia e all’estero, tutte opere di maestranze trapanesi. Viene inoltre segnalato e studiato un inedito trionfo di corallo di collezione privata di Palermo, raffigurante, sopra l’usuale carro, l’incontro tra la Madonna e Gesù Risorto

Genome-wide multi-parametric analysis of H2AX or γH2AX distributions during ionizing radiation-induced DNA damage response

Background: After induction of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), the DNA damage response (DDR) is activated. One of the earliest events in DDR is the phosphorylation of serine 139 on the histone variant H2AX (gH2AX) catalyzed by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases-related kinases. Despite being extensively studied, H2AX distribution[1] across the genome and gH2AX spreading around DSBs sites[2] in the context of different chromatin compaction states or transcription are yet to be fully elucidated. Materials and methods: gH2AX was induced in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) by exposure to 10 Gy X-rays (250 kV, 16 mA). Samples were incubated 0.5, 3 or 24 hours post irradiation to investigate early, intermediate and late stages of DDR, respectively. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed to select H2AX, H3 and gH2AX-enriched chromatin fractions. Chromatin-associated DNA was then sequenced by Illumina ChIP-Seq platform. HepG2 gene expression and histone modification (H3K36me3, H3K9me3) ChIP-Seq profiles were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (accession numbers GSE30240 and GSE26386, respectively). Results: First, we combined G/C usage, gene content, gene expression or histone modification profiles (H3K36me3, H3K9me3) to define genomic compartments characterized by different chromatin compaction states or transcriptional activity. Next, we investigated H3, H2AX and gH2AX distributions in such defined compartments before and after exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) to study DNA repair kinetics during DDR. Our sequencing results indicate that H2AX distribution followed H3 occupancy and, thus, the nucleosome pattern. The highest H2AX and H3 enrichment was observed in transcriptionally active compartments (euchromatin) while the lowest was found in low G/C and gene-poor compartments (heterochromatin). Under physiological conditions, the body of highly and moderately transcribed genes was devoid of gH2AX, despite presenting high H2AX levels. gH2AX accumulation was observed in 5’ or 3’ flanking regions, instead. The same genes showed a prompt gH2AX accumulation during the early stage of DDR which then decreased over time as DDR proceeded. Finally, during the late stage of DDR the residual gH2AX signal was entirely retained in heterochromatic compartments. At this stage, euchromatic compartments were completely devoid of gH2AX despite presenting high levels of non-phosphorylated H2AX. Conclusions: We show that gH2AX distribution ultimately depends on H2AX occupancy, the latter following H3 occupancy and, thus, nucleosome pattern. Both H2AX and H3 levels were higher in actively transcribed compartments. However, gH2AX levels were remarkably low over the body of actively transcribed genes suggesting that transcription levels antagonize gH2AX spreading. Moreover, repair processes did not take place uniformly across the genome; rather, DNA repair was affected by genomic location and transcriptional activity. We propose that higher H2AX density in euchromaticcompartments results in high relative gH2AXconcentration soon after the activation of DDR, thus favoring the recruitment of the DNA repair machinery to those compartments. When the damage is repaired and gH2AX is removed, its residual fraction is retained in the heterochromatic compartments which are then targeted and repaired at later times

Il Tesoro della Cattedrale di Palermo

Saggi storico critici sulle collezioni di suppellettili e paramenti sacri esposti nel nuovo allestimento del Tesoro della Cattedrale di Palermo. Rassegna di manufatti di alto interesse storico artistico che copre un arco cronologico che va dal XII al XX secol

The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale: the artworks of Santa Maria del Bosco and the textile artefacts of the Cathedral, Sicily, Italy

The recent decision to convert the Benedictine Dormitory in Monreale into an exhibition site offers the opportunity to enjoy the whole monumental complex where the wonderful cloister is the core attraction. It is on this site that the Norman Cathedral stands, brightly decorated with golden mosaics. The new exhibition has gathered together the artworks from the ruined abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco in Calatamauro and added them to the artefacts already exhibited at the Diocesan Museum. They include marble gravestones from the 16th-17th century church and those dating to the 18th century; one stone is in polychrome marble of the family of the canons, Candes and Donato; another was used for the burial of the monks from the period of the Olivetan refoundation, characterized by the Order’s coat of arms and attributed to Girolamo Musca. There are also majolica tiles from the chapels in cornu evangelij (left side of the altar) adorned with large vegetal-shaped decorations, provided by Palermitan manufacturers in the mid-eighteenth century. They are found next to the remnants of the majolica tiles still in situ, executed in 1762 by the potters from Burgio, in Sicily. Rosario Rosso (also Russo) and Giuseppe Virgadamo. Also commissioned after the refoundation of the holy temple are the four artworks by the painter Ippolito Ferrante, three of which, Sacrificio di Isacco, Melchisedec and Giale e Sisar, are on exhibition in the prestigious museum. Alongside these artworks are noteworthy textile artefacts made between the second half of the 16th and second half of the 18th centuries some of which are linked to the munificent figures of archbishops such as Ludovico II Torres and Francesco Testa

Mirabilia Coralii. Capolavori barocchi in corallo tra maestranze ebraiche e trapanesi

La pregevole lavorazione del corallo trapanese ricostruita attraverso la puntuale analisi delle fonti documentarie, manoscritte e bibliografiche. L’organizzazione della maestranza e il ruolo che la committenza,sia laica che ecclesiastica, ha esercitato nella realizzazione di capolavori oggi presenti in rinomate collezioni pubbliche e private e nei principali musei nazionali ed internazionali. Una rassegna di importanti manufatti, un tempo mirabili opere da Wunderkammer, criticamente commentata, che bene evidenzia l’aulica produzione siciliana ricercata da Sovrani, Viceré ed alti prelati. Un’originale ed inedita trattazione che per la prima volta rende noti nomi e biografie di gran parte degli artisti specializzati, tra XVI e XIX secolo, nella trasformazione del prezioso materiale marin