It is a chapel, but not as we know it

            Where to start? This is the late 17th century altar frontal of the Palatine Chapel in Castelbuono, Sicily. This breathtakingly baroque stucco work was done by Giuseppe and Giacomo Serpotta on a pure gold ground. Cherubs mingle with imaginary creatures and, behind the grate, in the centre, we find a reliquary bust made from silver. Why do we have this exuberance in one of Sicily's small mountain towns? The Ventimiglias, one of the most powerful families of medieval and Renaissance Sicily, had made Castelbuono their headquarter. They brought with them one of the treasures of medieval Christianity - the skull of Sant'Anna, according to apocryphal tradition (you would not find her name in the Bible) the mother of Mary and hence, the grandmother of Jesus. The skull is now said to be housed in the reliquary bust and shown once a year in a procession through the streets of Castelbuono. For a lapsed Protestant such as me, this is all rather wonderful stuff. But I am also aware that one can't get more Sicilian than this.
   

Taken on: September 18, 2019

Tags:

Castelbuono

Sicily

Reliquary

Baroque

Serpotta-Brothers

Stucco « less

Sets appears in: • Streets and Buildings

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Camera: Fujifilm X-T2, f/2.0, 1/125 sec, 23mm (=35mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Fujifilm X-T2
Lens:	XF23mmF2 R WR
Aperture:	f/2.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	23mm (35mm equivalent: 35mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Spot
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Photos 4.0
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