SHOWCASE OF THE SHRINE
Concattedrale di Palmi, Reggio Calabria | 2009
Fotografo: Maria Rosaria Trapasso
"By this gift from the sea came the idea to create the Teca del Sacro Capello."
The showcase (Theca) project makes a type of technical and aesthetic approach of a piece of furniture to merge and integrate with a greater sacred work of strong impact. The ampoule containing the holy hair, the relic, the very symbol of the shrine itself, is located at the centre of the travertine–marble showcase which is tilted in a concave elliptical shape. On its lowest part the backlit onyx represents the most evocative detail of the entire work that inspired to the creation of the shrine. The relic appears to be set directly onto the ground of a portion of the sea.
The relic, however, does not pose directly on the elliptical surface. It has been artfully nestled on a smaller base of the same type of marble and illumined by LED lights to emphasize its importance. To complete the showcase four bas-reliefs created by the artist Maurizio Carnevali have been positioned on the inclined plane of marble, outside the ellipse. These works covered with a bronze patina narrate the story of the encounter between Palmi and Messina, and thus underline the connection between this work and the local traditions.