Safe Travels, St. Catherine of Alexandria!

St. Catherine of Alexandria painted by Raphael  (Urbino 1482- Roma 1520)

'St. Catherine of Alexandria', painted by Raphael at the beginning of his career is going to be the Ambassador for Urbino in its bid to become the European Capital City of Culture in 2019.

This work of art will be exhibited at the Italian Culture Institute of New York from October 1st - 28th October. 

St. Catherine of Alexandria was very important in the Renaissance period and we can find paintings of her in museums and churches throughout Italy as she was the Patron Saint of Arts. 

Recently, I have been to Puglia and Liguria and I was impressed to see many paintings of St. Catherine, despite knowing she was a very popular saint in the Renaissance period.  I found a fresco of her in the Cathedral of Ostuni (Brindisi) and a painting in the Cathedral of San Nicolò in Pietra Ligure (Savona) in which she is painted with a piece of breaking wheel and an elephant,  probably with reference to her North African origins.

St. Catherine of Alexandria is mentioned in the Legenda Aurea and it is celebrated every 25^th of November.  In Deruta, St. Catherine is the Patron Saint of the town and of potters.  Therefore on the 25th November every year, all businesses are closed to celebrate the day with many social events. 

St. Catherine of Alexandria in the Cathedral
of Pietra Ligure, Italy is painted with a little elephant
next to her. 

Proofreading by A.S. 

Parmigianino, Mystic Marriage of St.Catherine of Alexandria at the hands of baby Jesus (c. 1527-31)

More posts about St. Catherine of Alexandria in this blog: 

1. http://friendsofcama.blogspot.it/2010/08/november-25th-feast-of-saint-catherine.html

2. http://friendsofcama.blogspot.it/2011/06/deruta-symbols.htm

3. http://friendsofcama.blogspot.it/2011/10/saint-catherine-of-alexandria-favorite.html

                                                                  

4. http://friendsofcama.blogspot.it/2011/12/majolica-of-orvieto-italy.html

5. http://friendsofcama.blogspot.it/2013/07/camas-true-colors.html

6. http://friendsofcama.blogspot.it/2013/08/3-c-stands-for-catherine.html

-------------

Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

FRIENDS OF CAMA 

Join the Facebook Page to Receive Blog Updates 

NEW!

Now on Twitter

"C" for "CANCER"

The horoscope sign of the CANCER in the celestial vault and constellations.
I am very fond of the horoscope sign under which I was born. 
(original drawing of  Alexander Jamieson).

Cosimo I de' Medici was born in June under the Gemini sign. However in paintings, bas-reliefs and frescoes describing his noble personality he prefers the Capricorn sign because it reminds him of when he was elected Duke of Florence in January 1537 and his birthright as a politician.  

The horn of plenty is part of the
Capricorn Mythology 

During Cosimo's time the Capricorn sign was a sign of power. Indeed two important personalities were associated with this sign: Emperor Augustus and Charles V of France.  In addition Capricorn was the birth sign of his famous ancestor Lorenzo de' Medici, known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. 

Horoscope signs in the celestial vault
Image: Museo Galileo Florence, Italy

My first thought was Cancer to be used for this post because it alliterates with my list of short posts starting with "C".  The only thing I could think of is that my horoscope sign reminds me of the start of a beautiful marriage as I am a honey moon baby. Which means a lot to me and later I discovered a connection between Cancer and Capricorn which could be more interesting. In its turn Capricorn came to  mind from the word capra (tr.goat) as the Capricorn is half a goat and half a fish. 

In The Renaissance Capricorn was a symbol of power. 

As a matter of fact Cancer and Capricorn have much in common if we consider astrology as the ancient science of reading the celestial vault as part of life and mutual influences in the universe: heaven and earth, communion of macroworld and microworld. In this perspective Cancer and Capricorn are called respectively north gate and south gate, they are the signs of the summer solstice and the winter solstice.  Furthermore they are part of a process of renewal on which they are inscribed as gates of an egg -symbol of rebirth. In fact they are the opposite! 

This is my fifth post of short  stories entitled "Cake Stands for Cama": stories about my favorites starting with "C".  I hope you enjoyed it!

-------------

Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

FRIENDS OF CAMA 

Join the Facebook Page to Receive Blog Updates 

NEW!

Now on Twitter

"C" for "COLORS"

The symbols of peace (dove) 

and plenty (cat).

Peace is on top of plenty.

Last year I found out something interesting regarding the family crest of an Italian noble family of the area in which I am currently living.  It is important to me because it is related to colors and their meaning.

heraldic dove 

The family crest is divided into two horizontal parts: the upper blue background is on top of the red part, wrapped by a classical gold/yellow ribbon. By looking at the family crest I suddenly felt I could relate to the colors on a personal level: blue for the color of my father's eyes and red for the family's workshop floor at Cama's. 

                                      

The family crest on a fresco surrounded by Renaissance grotesques. 

Heraldic cat
(Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License)

It is thanks to the crest's symbols, the dove and the cat, that I understood the meaning of its colors: blue stands for peace  (a dove carrying an olive sprig), and red stands for abundance (a walking cat with a majestic head).  Indeed the sign of a well-fed cat is indicative of wealth whereas the dove is an international symbol of peace. 

But there is more to it. By studying the relationship between peace and abundance, I also discovered that in mythology peace accompanies plenty, the two allegories are described and painted together. In classical ages, events happened through the action of couples, just like the sparkle of love!

This is my free interpretation of the family crest by looking at it through the eyes of my experience, the colors of my time at Cama, and Renaissance symbolism. I hope you are enjoying my discoveries with me. 

Tiffany Blue or 'Robin's Egg Blue'

One of the pastel shades of red: candy pink

note: I am learning with this post that the American Robin lays blue eggs. This color is called 'Robin's egg blue'. It's better known as Tiffany blue. I love this color! 

This is my fourth post of short stories entitled "Cake Stands for Cama": stories about my favorites starting with "C".  I hope you enjoyed it!

                                                                    

-------------

Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

FRIENDS OF CAMA 

Join the Facebook Page to Receive Blog Updates 

NEW!

Now on Twitter