The tabernacle is the place of the church that holds the ciborium containing the Eucharist.

This makes the tabernacle the heart and the cornerstone of each church; it is the reference of those who come to pray and worship the body of Christ even outside of celebrations.

The term comes from the Latin tabernaculum, a diminutive of taberna. Its meaning is therefore ‘abode’, the house of God by men. This justifies the centrality that has been given to the shrine over the centuries.

It not only wanted to invoke the presence of God, but to also show how he was near, under the eyes of the faithful, alongside their daily lives. The Altar tabernacle stems from the early Christian tradition of guarding the blessed bread in their homes, to be able to worship at all times, to make it a constant presence in everyday life.

In the past, it was located at the very center of the presbytery, above the altar, or at least in a central location where the faithful could always see it. In more recent times, it seems to have lost this prominent position: it is often located on a bollard a little out of sight, or even outside of the presbytery, in a chapel or side altar.

Nevertheless, you should not be fooled about the true value contained within the tabernacle for the faithful on a symbolic level. Although distancing the tabernacle from the altar may seem on the one hand a weakening of the symbolic expression of the Mystery of the Sacrifice, in fact enables the faithful to find, in the most intimate and private contemplation of the tabernacle, a deeper and more collected inner journey.

The choice of the tabernacle’s location from the table thus does not affect its value. It remains a subject of major importance to the adoration of the faithful and in every church the symbol of the presence of God and the renewal of his sacrifice of love.

The production of religious marble statues belongs to the artistic tradition of Christianity dating back to the antiquity. Particularly in Italy, the influence of firstly Greek then Roman sculpture decisively influenced the evolution of religious art.

The models and the classical pagan and Roman sculpture references followed the Christianisation of the Empire, and were approximately the same in shape, only changing the subjects depicted.

So there is a continual iconographic tradition between Greek and Roman culture, early Christianity, and later, after the Middle Ages, the Renaissance rediscovery of aesthetics and Neoclassicism. During the Renaissance in particular, the rediscovery of ancient works, accompanied by the desire to preserve and not to barbarically allow marble and bronze to be reused for other purposes, revived Roman sculpture, opening it up to new interpretations.

Religious marble statues began to spread, fueled by the demands of patrons, corroborated by the work of so many commendable and excellent artists.

Even Baroque art continued to be indebted to Roman sculpture and its examples. In the 1700s, the advent of Neoclassicism led to a return to classicism, not only for processing and materials, but also for people, in a mix of sacred and profane in some scandalous verses.

Religious Marble statues have always belonged to the artistic and religious tradition of Italy. The marble purity emphasises the symbolic value of the sculpture itself and its ability to transcend matter. Its colour and perfection are spiritual conductors, even before those who are impressed you the skill of the sculptors.

Even today, religious marble or marble dust statues an essential ornament to churches, streets, and all places dedicated to spirituality. In many cases, these are reproductions of famous works, but often they are original sculptures that show a devotion never stilled.

The act of washing has always played a very important role in religious ceremonies. Judaism has spread real baths, which go back to the baptism of John the Baptist, while the Koran prescribes the washing of the face, arms and feet before prayer.

As part of Catholicism, in addition to baptism and sprinkling the faithful with holy water, washing of the hands of the priest occupies a key role. The washing of hands before the start of the liturgy is meant to purify the priest, to place him in a state of ritual purity so that he can proceed with his duties and be the bearer of the divine message. In addition, washing the hands is essential to allow him to touch the Eucharist. For this purpose in the sacristy is a manuterge: white linen towels, often adorned with lace or lace, with which the priest performs the ablution of hands before getting dressed for Mass. In addition, the top offertory, a smaller manuterge is used for a real and proper ritual ‘hand washing’.

The presence of the manuterge in the liturgy means that it is accompanied by an ewer containing the water needed for washing, which can also be presented in an appropriate manner as part of the celebration.

Manuterge ewers are objects of great importance and sacredness. Usually it is accompanied by a basin in which to pour the water and wash the hands before the start of the Eucharistic liturgy. The service can also be made up of several pieces, like an ewer and two basins: one below on which to pour the water, and one flat one to rest the pitcher after using it. Often the pitcher and accessories are crafted with engravings and decorations that enhance the brightness and elegance of the service.

Usually modern manuterge ewers are made of silver or gold plated brass, but they’re also made of other materials, such as glass and steel. In the antiquity, manuterge ewers could get to be objects of immense value and exquisite artistic workmanship, made of gold or silver, embossed or chiselled, decorated with encrusted gems.

The tradition of giving consecrated bread a flat, round shape harks back to the end of the fourth century, in the Orient. After the fifth century, such customs also arrived in the West. We should not think, however, that the hosts made then are similar to those in use today: in fact, they were round-shaped pieces of bread, but a lot denser and bigger than what we know nowadays.

The oldest documented host mould was found in Carthage. It was made of stone and dated back to the sixth century.

Subsequently, the custom of using a larger host for the priest and a smaller one for the faithful spread. These hosts were produced in monasteries. The oldest host mould found in Italy dates back to 1132 and is preserved in the wine museum in Torgiano (Perugia).

From the beginning, host moulds were designed to press a decoration into the host that would highlight its symbolic and sacred value. Immediate recurring themes were the Paschal Lamb, the flagellation, crucifixion and IHS and IHC monograms.

During the Renaissance, the host moulds were often customised with family crests, heraldic symbols, or even the owner’s name or the engraver who had made them. Many high-ranking priests demanded that prestigious goldsmiths and artisans made host moulds. This meant that host moulds became a part of diocese treasures and of the noble families who gravitated around them.

Since the end of the eighteenth century, host moulds underwent a series of significant changes: in terms of their material because cast iron was gradually replaced, in terms of thickness and also in decor creation (from the mould graver). Even decorations slowly changed: symbols and geometric patterns gave way to more complex, truly religious squares.

Today host moulds are non-stick plates with thermostats and saf

PVC candles are comfortable and functional alternatives to real candles; can also be cheaper and safer than traditional candles made of beeswax, vegetable wax, or paraffin, and their effect in terms of atmosphere and solemnity is not envious of traditional ones.

They use glass or plexiglass cylinders or PVC equipped with a wick and brass gigler (the nozzle through which the wick is passed) and powered by rechargeable cartridges for liquid wax.

On the inside of this candles cartridges, levels can be indicated with their relative duration, so you can constantly monitor consumption and adjust them for replacement. The liquid wax cartridges for PVC candles are usually in plexiglass, with a transparent body that indicates the hours of duration based on the amount of wax contained.

PVC candles and their refills are available in various sizes, which vary according to height and depending on the outer diameter of the cartridge. This variety of measures allows you to combine PVC candles between them depending on their use, always maintaining the same size without needing to change them frequently.

The use also ensures the cleanliness of the altars and the candleholders placed in the chapels and front of the statues of the saints. The wax does not come out of the cylinder and does not form difficult-to-remove deposits. Moreover, the structure of PVC candles makes it more difficult to get burned with the flames and prevents the risk of accidental fires.

However, since they are natural flames, PVC candles recreate the warm and cozy environment of churches at all times, turning on the devotion of the faithful and collecting them in a rich environment of sacredness and participation.

Among the many characters that are part of the Neapolitan nativity, there are those whose stories are handed down in a very charming and fascinating tradition.

The Neapolitan nativity scene, more than any other, is made up of symbols embodied by men and women, figures representing the people of legends that often transcend religion, sinking its roots in to a much older reality.

In the case of Benin, the shepherd sleeping in the cave at the edge of the nativity scene itself, the religious meaning is inextricably linked with a sense of the most ancient magic. The figure of Benin comes from what was stated in the scriptures: “And the angels gave the news to the sleeping shepherds.”

Benin is usually represented as a young shepherd, little more than a boy. His sleeping symbolises youth, immaturity of the spirit, in addition to the childhood of the body. It is not only a physiological state, but also a condition of the spirit of unconscious tension towards something great and irreparable that needs to happen. In this sense, the awakening is considered as a rebirth, the inevitable transition to adulthood, but also the revelation of the sacred represented the Nativity and the move to a new, more mature and more conscious life. A kind of initial sleep, then, that seems to be linked to ancient rites of passage, to which Christian experience has instilled an even greater symbolic value.

But Benino is also famous because he is said to be the one who dreams of the nativity that he stars in. An image has a very strong philosophical value, as well as a profound symbology. Sleep is not just the prelude to the evolution of the soul, but it is an act of creation itself, a kind of preparation for the scenario in which the miracle of the Nativity manifests, and with it the spiritual rebirth of the individual. A fragile and delicate balance, as is the nature of dreams.

Benino sleeps, and in his sleep, he still performs the miracle of Christmas once more. His awakening is a new order, a new beginning for everyone.