Sacra et Pretiosa Cerae
The exhibition ‘Sacra et Pretiosa Cerae – Il divino Infante nel Monastero di Santa Caterina’ (Sacred and Precious Wax – The Divine Infant in the Monastery of St. Catherine) was realised as a symbol of rebirth and hope, after an extremely difficult two-year period, still linked to the persistence of the Covid -19 pandemic, which also led to the closure of cultural venues. The Monastery preserves a sizeable collection of waxen Baby Jesuses that belonged to the nuns. This is why there are so many different types of bambineddi in the exhibition, from ‘Jesus Child Fishing Hearts’ to ‘Sleeping Child’, from ‘Jesus with the Signs of the Passion’ to ‘Jesus the Good Shepherd’. This catalogue, brings together an in-depth look at the precious art of waxwork from different points of view: theological, historical-artistic, devotional; but also relating to the processing and restoration of waxes.
Photo: G. Oliveri – D. Di Vincenzo
Maria Oliveri
AuthorsMaria Oliveri holds a master’s degree in ‘Philosophy’ and a level II master’s degree in ‘Religious Sciences and Cultural Professions for the Territory’ from the University of Palermo. Passionate about history, art and anthropology, she is involved in the dissemination of Sicilian cultural heritage and archive research. She has written short stories for the web, collaborated with the quarterly magazine ‘Sapori di Sicilia’ and the free press ‘Buongiorno Palermo’ and ‘Genio Magazine’. Since 2022 he has collaborated as an author with the online magazine Balarm.
His plays Il racconto di suor Caterina Venero (2015) and Laura Lanza, infelice storia della Baronessa di Carini (2016) were performed in the Lanza di Trabia Crypt. With the publishing house Il Genio Editore he published: in 2017 the first edition of I segreti del chiostro. Storie e ricette dei monasteri di Palermo, which qualified as one of the three first finalists in the 2018 Castiglione di Sicilia literary competition, ‘Cento Sicilia, cento scrittori’; in 2019 the second updated edition of I Segreti del chiostro; in 2023 Le Impudiche paste delle Vergini; in 2025 Il trionfo della Gola. La pasticceria dei monasteri di Palermo.
He participated in the collective essays: In Santa Caterina edited by P. Araldi; Tra amiche (2023) edited by I. Margarese (Les Fleneurs); Palermo (2022) edited by A. Russolillo and S. Favarò, Lipari (2023) edited by M. C. Martinelli, P. Lo Cascio et alii; Isola d’Ischia (2023) edited by A. Russolillo, G. Ambrosino, S. Gervasio; Caltanissetta (2024) edited by S. D’Angelo, C. Caminiti, A. Russolillo, L. Sutera (all published by Villaggio letterario).
He participated in the collective volume Racconti storici (2023) published by Historica Edizioni.
He edited with Nicole Oliveri the catalogue of the homonymous exhibition Sacra et Pretiosa Cerae (2023) published by Il Genio Editore.
Nicole Oliveri
AuthorsNicole Oliveri received her Baccalaureate from the Theological Faculty of Sicily S. Giovanni Evangelista in Palermo; she obtained her Licentiate and Doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has been teaching since 2012 at the Liceo Scientifico Statale Ernesto Basile in Palermo and since 2017 he has been a lecturer at the Theological Faculty of Sicily S. Giovanni Evangelista in Palermo. Trainer in the pastoral care of beauty courses on the artistic heritage of the Diocese of Palermo. He collaborates with various organisations for the realisation of cultural events and exhibitions.
He has published: Per una cristologia della bellezza. La regalità di Cristo e il suo splendore nell’iconografia della Cappella Palatina di Palermo. Extract of the dissertation for the doctorate in the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Gregorian University (2019); Cappella Palatina. Splendour of Light, published by the Fondazione Federico II (2004).
He participated in the collective essays: Aa.Vv. Sacra et pretiosa. Oreficeria dai monasteri di Palermo
Capital (2019); Aa. Vv. God’s judgement will come. Church and the Mafia as a magisterium of liberation today?(Il Pozzo di Giacobbe 2024); Aa. Vv. Popular religiosity, history and tradition of images in Sicily, Proceedings of the study conference, 17-18 November 2023.
Together with Maria Oliveri, he edited the catalogue of the exhibition Sacra et Pretiosa Cerae (2023) published by Il Genio Editore.
