Settimana Santa in Sicilia: l’Addolorata di Trapani e i gruppi processionali di Erice

The following article brings us closer to the celebration of Easter in Sicily giving special attention to the traditional processions of Trapani and Erice. The author highlights its most characteristic aspects that relate to its established devotion of Mary. This article also studies the possible similarities with Murcia’s Oracion en el Huerto.El presente artículo nos aproxima a la celebración de la Semana Santa en la isla de Sicilia, con especial atención a las tradicionales procesiones de Trapani y Erice. El autor incide en sus aspectos más característicos y en su asentada devoción mariana. También se destacan las posibles similitudes con la Semana Santa de Murcia en composiciones como La Oración en el Huerto. Los conjuntos escúltóricos de Trapani y Erice constituyen los mejores ejemplos de la Semana Santa en Sicilia. Elaborados en madera y utilizando telas encoladas transmiten una imagen tremendamente realista de la Pasión de Cristo. La urna de cristal que contiene el cuerpo de Cristo y la Dolorosa son las grandes imágenes de devoción en Trapani, habiendo aportado una reciente restauración nuevos datos sobre la autoría de la Dolorosa y otros numerosos datos de interés. En Erice destacan los conjuntos de Jesús en el Huerto, la Coronación de Espinas, la Flagelación y Cristo con la Cruz a cuestas camino del Calvario cuya restauración también ha aportado nuevos datos relevantes sobre los mismos. El paso de la Oración en el huerto conservado en la iglesia de Jesús de Murcia y su homólogo de Erice presentan llamativas similitudes en la postura de Cristo sostenido por el ángel y en la expresividad de las imágenes con una solución compositiva cuyos orígenes pueden encontrarse en Caravaggio. El autor aborda las posibles influencias artísticas que pudieron darse entre las piezas españolas y sicilianas. Pero más allá de las influencias, concluye el artículo el poderoso impacto visual común producido por unas y otras obras en su finalidad de catequizar y dramatizar

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

La Natività con i Santi Lorenzo e Francesco di Michelangelo Merisi detto Caravaggio

Rassegna critica e analisi iconografica e iconologica del dipinto di Caravaggio trafugato nel 1969 dall'Oratorio di San Lorenzo di PalermoCritical review and iconographic and iconological analysis of Caravaggio's painting stolen in 1969 from the Oratory of San Lorenzo di Palerm

Ostensori architettonici in Sicilia tra suggestioni iberiche e rinascimentali

Through the analysis of six architectural monstrances housed in churches and museums in Sicily, the formal and compositional languages that, between Iberian and Renaissance suggestions, characterize these masterpieces of sacred art are analyzed. They are small silver architectures, produced between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, which are influenced by the Catalan Gothic influences and the Italian Renaissance, in a peculiar Sicilian synthesis Attraverso l’analisi di sei ostensori architettonici custoditi tra chiese e musei in Sicilia, vengono analizzati i linguaggi formali e compositivi che, tra suggestioni iberiche e rinascimentali, caratterizzano questi capolavori d’arte sacra. Sono piccole architetture d’argento, prodotte tra il XV e il XVII secolo, che risentono degli influssi gotico catalani e del Rinascimento italiano, in una peculiare sintesi tutta siciliana.&nbsp

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

Il tesoro di Santa Venera ad Acireale

Scientific study of the corpus of works that make up the treasure of Santa Venera in Acireale, the fruit of donations from Acireale's noble families, princes, knights and high prelates, at times specially commissioned and created as a concrete testimony of devotion to the patron saint

Nobilis instrumenta: suppellettili liturgiche, ex voto e parati sacri nelle chiese di Petralia Sottana

Temi di questo volume sono l’aulica produzione siciliana di preziosi monili in oro, smalti, corallo e pietre preziose, la superba creatività nel modellare suppellettili liturgiche in argento e l’eccellente tradizione manifatturiera di parati sacri. Al lettore viene svelata un’eccezionale collezione di opere d’arte decorativa di cui si fornisce un’analitica catalogazione. Ciascun manufatto, doviziosamente descritto, è contestualizzato nella pertinente temperie storico culturale di cui è espressione. L’ampia rassegna comprende opere realizzate dal X al XIX se colo e conservate nelle chiese di Petralia Sottana, centro delle alte Madonie. Il forte sentimento devozionale e la sensibilità nel dare splendore al Mistero eucaristico sono tra le motivazioni che hanno sollecitato la generosa committenza di confraternite, compagnie, pii fedeli, nobili, come i Pucci e i Lanza, badesse o prelati, come don Pietro Macaluso I e don Nicola Maria Polizzotti. Grazie alla loro munificenza, spesso eternata da iscrizioni o dedotta da ricerche documentarie, la comunità madonita possiede importanti tesori prodotti dalle più ricercate maestranze non solo regionali, ma anche internazionali. Si offre, dunque, la conoscenza di un patrimonio di grande interesse di cui è auspicabile, attraverso un’adeguata musealizzazione, una valorizzazione permanenteThemes of this volume are the noble Sicilian production of precious gold, enamel, coral and precious stones jewelry, the superb creativity in modeling liturgical furnishings in silver and the excellent manufacturing tradition of sacred vestments. The reader is unveiled an exceptional collection of decorative art works of which an analytical cataloging is provided. Each artifact, richly described, is contextualized in the pertinent historical and cultural climate of which it is an expression. The extensive exhibition includes works created from the tenth to the nineteenth century and preserved in the churches of Petralia Sottana, the center of the high Madonie. The strong devotional sentiment and the sensitivity in giving splendor to the Eucharistic Mystery are among the reasons that prompted the generous commission of brotherhoods, companies, pious faithful, nobles, such as the Pucci and Lanza, abbesses or prelates, such as Don Pietro Macaluso and Don Nicola Maria Polizzotti. Thanks to their munificence, often eternalized by inscriptions or deduced from documentary research, the Madonite community possesses important treasures produced by the most sought-after workers, not only regional but also international. Therefore, the knowledge of a heritage of great interest is offered, a permanent enhancement of which is desirable through an adequate museu

Recovering Sicilian Silk Heritage through Digital Technologies: The Case of Piraino's Collection

Textile conservation has given rise to small and medium-sized museums, usually with scarce resources. In Sicily, the little evidence that remains of silk production and opulent imports by the rich and powerful local aristocracy is kept in museums, parishes, and other cultural institutions. The documentation, dissemination, and enhancement of such a fragile heritage is today possible by means of technological tools that provide novel means to preserve, analyze, and exploit digital information. In this paper, we present some outcomes of the SILKNOW project, a project that applies computing research to the needs of diverse users (museums, educational institutions, the tourism industry, creative industries, media, etc.) and preserves the tangible and intangible heritage associated with silk. We show the methodology followed to build end users' needs into the Virtual Loom, a tool that deals with the 3D reconstruction of silk fabrics at the yarn level. We also provide a real example of how to integrate it at the museum level, specifically, at Piraino's Collection. The results demonstrate how small and medium-sized museums can access tools that will help them to carry out their daily tasks

From Silk to Digital Technologies: A Gateway to New Opportunities for Creative Industries, Traditional Crafts and Designers. The SILKNOW Case

Nowadays, cultural heritage is more than ever linked to the present. It links us to our cultural past through the conscious act of preserving and bequeathing to future generations, turning society into its custodian. The appreciation of cultural heritage happens not only because of its communicative power, but also because of its economic power, through sustainable development and the promotion of creative industries. This paper presents SILKNOW, an EU-H2002 funded project and its application to cultural heritage, as well as to creative industries and design innovation. To this end, it presents the use of image recognition tools applied to cultural heritage, through the interoperability of data in the open-access registers of silk museums and its presentation, analysis and creative process carried out by the design students of EASD Valencia as a case study, in the branches of jewellery and fashion project, inspired by the heritage of silk