The Custom Of Festive Hangings In Rome: Chiesa Nuova Church.

This Article, by John Paul Sonnen, dated January 2025, 

is taken from, and can be read in full at, 

LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL       HERE

There is a long-standing custom in Italy and other places, such as Malta, to decorate Churches on festive occasions with certain Silken Hangings (Italian: “Drappi”; English: “Drapes”).

They are hung on Pilasters throughout the Church in Red and Gold with elegant motifs. 

Such draperies are typically put up by volunteer Parishioners, thanks to a rope pulley system that is attached at the top of each Pilaster.

These beautiful Hangings express Baroque opulence, with richly-detailed iconographic motifs, that generally depict a vertical lattice in delicate floral patterns. 

These designs are often inspired by Italian and French upholstery fabrics from the 17th-Century. 

The Hangings create a pattern of unparalleled sophistication and equally decorate the Sanctuary and Side Chapels.

Not many Churches are left in Rome that have maintained this venerable custom. The images shown here are of the Chiesa Nuova Church, under the care of the good Fathers of the Oratory. 

The vintage Hangings depict lightweight floral designs of Acanthus Leaves, a typical Baroque pattern. 

Fortunately, the Hangings have been impeccably maintained and handled and stored with great care.

“Extras” like these Hangings, extend beauty and lend “oomph” and dignity to a Liturgical space. They add a personal touch and warmth and help to harmonise and solemnise occasions when they are displayed.

Let us admire these local customs with ancient roots, and appreciate them when we see them, and thank those who prioritise this worthy tradition.

One textile manufacturer that still makes these Hangings (custom orders on demand) is the Venetian firm, Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua, whose Web-Site can be found HERE

“Schindler’s List”. Composed By: John Williams. Played By: NL Orchestra. Simone Lamsma (Violin) And Davida Scheffers (Cor Anglais). “Lest We Forget”.

Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Train tracks leading to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Nazi Germany’s largest Concentration Camp, near Oświęcim, Poland.

Photo Credit: Dinos Michail—iStock Editorial/Getty Images

Illustration: BRITANNICA

Illustration: AMAZON

“Schindler’s List”.

Composed By: John Williams.

Played By: NL Orchestra.

Simone Lamsma (Violin).

Davida Scheffers (Cor Anglais).

Available on YouTube

HERE

The Entrance Gate to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

The wording above The Gate means: “Work Sets You Free”.

Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP.

Illustration: THE GUARDIAN

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

Auschwitz Concentration Camp (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz) was a complex of over forty Concentration and Extermination Camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust.

It consisted of:

Auschwitz I, the main Camp (Stammlager) in Oświęcim;

Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a Concentration and Extermination Camp with Gas Chambers;

Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a Labour Camp for the Chemical Conglomerate, IG Farben;

and dozens of Sub-Camps.[3]

The Camps became a major site of the Nazis' Final Solution to The Jewish Question.

After Germany sparked World War II by invading Poland in September 1939, the Schutzstaffel (SS) converted Auschwitz I, an Army Barracks, into a Prisoner-of-War Camp for Polish Political Prisoners.[4]

The first inmates, German criminals brought to the Camp in May 1940 as Functionaries, established the Camp's reputation for sadism. 

Prisoners were beaten, tortured, and executed, for the most trivial reasons. The first Gassings — of Soviet and Polish Prisoners — took place in Block 11 of Auschwitz I around August 1941.

Construction of Auschwitz II began the following month, and, from 1942 until Late-1944, Freight Trains delivered Jews from all over German-occupied Europe to its Gas Chambers.

Of the 1.3 million people sent to Auschwitz, 1.1 million died. The Death Toll includes 960,000 Jews (865,000 of whom were Gassed on arrival), 74,000 ethnic Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet Prisoners of War, and up to 15,000 other Europeans.[5]

Those not Gassed, died of Starvation, Exhaustion, Disease, Individual Executions, or Beatings. Others were killed during Medical Experiments.

At least 802 Prisoners tried to escape, 144 successfully, and, on 7 October 1944, two Sonderkommando Units, consisting of Prisoners who staffed the Gas Chambers, launched an unsuccessful Uprising. 

Only 789 staff (no more than fifteen per cent) ever stood trial;[6] several were Executed, including Camp Commandant Rudolf Höss. 

The Allies' failure to act on early reports of atrocities by bombing the Camp or its Railways remains controversial.

As the Soviet Red Army approached Auschwitz in January 1945, toward the end of the War, The SS sent most of the Camp’s population West on a Death March to Camps inside Germany and Austria.

Soviet Troops entered The Camp on 27 January 1945, a day Commemorated since 2005 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

In the decades after the War, survivors, such as Primo Levi, Viktor Frankl, and Elie Wiesel, wrote Memoirs of their experiences, and the Camp became a dominant symbol of the Holocaust.

In 1947, Poland Founded The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on the site of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II, and, in 1979, Auschwitz was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

“Schindler's List” is a 1993 American epic historical drama film, directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian.

It is based on the 1982 historical fiction novel “Schindler's Ark”, by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally.

Schindler sees a girl in Red

during The Liquidation of The Kraków Ghetto.

The Red Coat is one of the few instances of colour

used in this predominantly Black and White film.

This File: 18 September 2020.

User: 0m9Ep

(Wikipedia)

The film follows Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who, together with his wife, Emilie Schindler, saved more than a thousand, mostly Polish-Jewish, refugees from The Holocaust, by employing them in his factories during World War II.

It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as SS officer Amon Göth and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.

Illustration: AMAZON

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany.

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral,

Passau, Germany.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany.

English: Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany.

Deutsch: Passau, der Fluss Inn, Dom und das Oberhaus

Photo: 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: High Contrast

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral (German: Dom Sankt Stephan) is a Baroque Church from 1688 in Passau, Germany, dedicated to Saint Stephen.

It is the Seat of the Catholic Bishop of Passau and the main Church of his Diocese.

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral’s Organ,

Passau, Germany.

Photo: 1 May 2018.

Source: Own work.

Author: Лорд Бъмбъри

(Wikimedia Commons)

Organ Concert in Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, 

Passau, Germany.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Since 730 A.D., there have been many Churches built on the site of the current Cathedral. 

The current Church, a Baroque building around 100 metres (328 ft) long, was built from 1668 to 1693 after a fire in 1662 destroyed its predecessor, of which only the Late-Gothic Eastern side remains.

The Cathedral’s overall Plan was made by Carlo Lurago, its interior decoration by Giovanni Battista Carlone, and its frescoes by Carpoforo Tencalla.

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany.

Deutsch: Dom St. Stephan und Domplatz in Passau.

Français: Cathédrale Saint-Étienne à Passau.

Italiano: Cattedrale di Passavia a Passavia.

Photo: 29 March 2007.

Source: Own work.

Attribution: GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Author: Aconcagua

(Wikimedia Commons)

Passau Cathedral’s Organ used to be the largest Organ in the World. It still is the largest Church Organ outside the USA. Over time, it has been outgrown by more recent instruments, for instance Wanamaker’s Organ in the USA.

The Organ currently has 17,774 Pipes and 233 Registers, all of which can be played with the five-manual general console in the gallery. Portions of the Organ have their own mechanical-action or electric-action consoles, for a total of six consoles.

Ceiling Paintings,

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, 

Passau, Germany.

Photo: 5 July 2016.

Source: Own work.

Author: Unnaugan

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral has eight large Bells in the North and South Towers. The heaviest,“Pummerin”, at 7550 kg, cast in 1952, and “Sturmerin”, weighing 5300 kg, cast in 1733, hang in the South Tower.

The Pulpit,

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany.

Photo: 23 August 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Gunterius

(Wikimedia Commons)

The other six Bells hang in the North Tower. They include:

“Misericordia”, weighing 6000 kg, the Angelus Bell;

“Predigerin”;

“Elfuhrglocken”, the Choir Bell;

“Dignitar”.

A ninth Bell, the “Zeichenglocke” hangs near the Sacristy door.

Wells Cathedral (Part Seventeen).

The Great West Front,

Wells Cathedral.

Photo: 30 April 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution:

Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

As at Chichester, there is no Northern Range to the Cloisters. In Monastic Cloisters, it was the North Range, benefitting most from Winter sunlight, that was often used as a Scriptorium.[112]

In 1969, when a large chunk of Stone fell from a Statue near the main door, it became apparent that there was an urgent need for restoration of the Great West Front.[66]

Detailed studies of the Stonework and of conservation practices were undertaken under the Cathedral Architect, Alban D. R. Caroe, and a Restoration Committee was formed.[96]

Wells Cathedral Clock.

Photo: 2 July 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lamiai

(Wikimedia Commons)

The conservation was carried out between 1974 and 1986, wherever possible using non-invasive procedures such as washing with water and a solution of lime, filling gaps and damaged surfaces with soft mortar to prevent the ingress of water and stabilising Statues that were fracturing through corrosion of metal dowels.

Wells Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace. View of

Wells Cathedral from beside the Moat to the Bishop’s Palace.

Photo: 17 January 2010.

Source: From geograph.org.uk

Attribution:

Philip Halling / Wells Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace /

CC BY-SA 2.0.

Author: Philip Halling

(Wikimedia Commons)

Choir, Transept, and Nave.

The particular character of this Early-English Interior is dependent on the proportions of the simple Lancet Arches. It is also dependent on the refinement of the architectural details, in particular the Mouldings.

The Arcade, which takes the same form in the Nave, Choir, and Transepts, is distinguished by the richness of both Mouldings and Carvings.

PART EIGHTEEN FOLLOWS.

The Monday Of The Third Week In Lent. Lenten Station Is At The Basilica Of Saint Mark’s, Rome. Violet Vestments.

Peterborough Cathedral.

© Chel@SweetbriarDreams

www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless otherwise stated.

Monday of the Third Week in Lent.

Station at Saint Mark’s, Rome.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

English: Façade of the Basilica of Saint Mark's, Rome. To the Right, is the Palazzo Venezia, the former See of the Embassy of the Republic of Venice, whose Protector was Saint Mark.

Italiano: Facciata della basilica di San Marco a Roma.

Photo: January 2006.

Author: Panairjdde.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Station is at Saint Mark’s, an ancient Parish Church of Rome, built in the 4th-Century A.D. by Pope Saint Mark in honour of his Patron, The Evangelist. Under the Altar lie the Remains of this Pope, with the bodies of The Holy Martyrs, Abdon and Sennen.

One cannot choose a better spot wherein to read this account of The Syrian, Naaman, than in this Sanctuary, so clearly Oriental, since Saint Mark is the Founder of The Patriarchal Seat of Alexandria, and Abdon and Sennen are Persians. This account of Naaman seems to make allusion to the Egyptians of Alexandria, whom Saint Mark healed from the leprosy of unbelief by Baptism.

Saint Ursula and her Companions,

with Pope Ciriacus and Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

Artist: Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (1590–1625).

Date: 1608.

Current location: Basilica di San Marco, Rome.

(Basilica of Saint Mark, Rome).

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Epistle and the Gospel speak to us of Naaman, the valiant General of the King of Syria’s Army. He was cured by bathing in The Jordan, although he did not belong to the Race of Israel. Later on, Jesus was to plunge Himself into the same River and to communicate a Sanctifying Virtue to its waters.

The Nave, San Marco, Rome.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153

(Wikimedia Commons)

Naaman, therefore, is a figure of the heathen whom The Church, by Baptism, cures of the leprosy of sin. Peter, says Tertullian, has Baptised in The Tiber, and those that he has cleansed, from the leprosy of sin, have abandoned the waters of Damascus, by which is meant their sensual life.

Let us renew ourselves, in the spirit of our Baptism, by purifying our hearts in the salutary bath of Penitence. This will cure them of the leprosy of the Soul called sin.

Mass: In Deo.
Preface: Of Lent.

The High Altar,

Basilica of Saint Mark’s, Rome.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153

Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English:

Organ of the Basilica of Saint Mark’s, Rome.

Italiano: Basilica di san Marco, Roma, 

controfacciata e organo.

Photo: October 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

In 336 A.D., Pope Saint Mark built a Church devoted to one of the Evangelists, his name-bearer Saint Mark, in a place called “Ad Pallacinas”. The Church is recorded as “Titulus Marci” in the 499 A.D. Synod of Pope Symmachus. [At that time, it became one of the Stational Churches of the City (Monday of the Third Week in Lent)].

After Restoration, 792 A.D., by Pope Adrian I, the Church was rebuilt by Pope Gregory IV, 833 A.D.

Besides the addition of a Romanesque Bell-Tower in 1154, the major change in the architecture of the Church was ordered by Pope Paul II in 1465-1470, when the Interior and Exterior were re-styled according to the Renaissance taste. On that occasion, the Church was assigned to the Venetian people living in Rome, Pope Paul II being a Venetian by birth.

Pope Paul II (1464 - 1471) 

ordered the re-styling of the Basilica.

Artist: Cristofano dell'Altissimo (1525–1605).

Picture title: Pietrobarbo.

Source/Photographer: Originally from en.wikipedia;

description page is/was HERE.

Original uploader was Savidan at en.wikipedia,

2007-06-29 (original upload date).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The last major re-working of the Basilica was started in 1654-1657 and completed by Cardinal Angelo Maria Quirini in 1735-1750. With these Restorations, the Church received its current Baroque decoration.

The façade (1466) was built with Marble taken from the Colosseum and the Theatre of Marcellus, and is attributed to Leon Battista Alberti.

English: The Theatre of Marcellus, Rome, from which Marble was taken to build the façade of

the Basilica di San Marco a Roma.

Italiano: Il teatro di Marcello accanto al tempio di Apollo Sosiano (in Circo) a Roma, ripreso dai piedi del Campidoglio, oltre la moderna via del Teatro di Marcello.

Photo: 2005.

Author: MM, uploaded to Italian Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Interior is clearly Baroque. However, the Basilica shows noteworthy elements of all its history.

The Apse mosaics, dating back to Pope Gregory IV, show the Pope, with the squared halo of a living person, offering a model of the Church to Christ, in the presence of Saint Mark The Evangelist, Pope Saint Mark, and other Saints.

The wooden Ceiling, with the emblem of Pope Paul II, is one of only two original 15th-Century wooden Ceilings in Rome, together with the one at Santa Maria Maggiore.

Our Lady Of The Atonement Cathedral,

Baguio, Philippines.

Photo: 29 March 2024.

Source: Own work.

This file is made available under the

Creative Commons CC0 1.0

Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Author: Galaxiaria

(Wikimedia Commons)

Wells Cathedral.

Photo: August 2006.

Source: Own work.

This File is licensed under the

Creative Commons Attribution-

Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence.

Author: Steinsky

(Wikimedia Commons)