Echi Romani

A Gothic reliquary (1344) containing relics of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, from the Museo Nicolaiano in Bari.

A decorated glass bottle (18th or 19th century), designed to contain the mysterious manna, a kind of clear oil, that emanates from the relics of Saint Nicholas in Bari.

Bust of Pope Benedict XIV (Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini) in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

A relief sculpture of Saint Maximus from the cathedral of Naples. Maximus (d. 361 AD) was known as a great defender of the decrees of the Council of Nicaea, especially in its opposition to Arianism. This led to his exile and replacement as Bishop of Naples by Zosimos, who proclaimed the Arianistic doctrine.

Madonna and Child. (Embossed, engraved and gilded copper with crystals and stones, XIV century). From the Treasury of the Cathedral of Milan.

Reliquary bust of Saint Augustine from the Church of S. Pietro in Terni.

Funerary monument to Pope Leo XIII (1810–1903) at the Lateran Basilica, sculpted by Giulio Tadolini (1849–1918).

Complete set of pontificalia (the instruments used by a bishop to perform liturgical ceremonies), Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Wild horses grazing on the slopes of Monte Subasio, with the town of Assisi in the near distance.

Pigeons preen above a medieval inscription on the facade of the Duomo of Florence. The words, + S. Dni. Rossi et de Bonitiis et filiorum, mark the tomb of some noble family of the city, probably the Benizi.

Gargoyle on the facade of the Duomo of Florence, the Cathedral of S. Maria del Fiore

Donatello’s crucifix in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.

Madonnella, Florence.

Devotional statue of the Blessed Virgin, festooned with Rosaries, santini, and ex votos. Norcia, Umbria, August 2013.