Rome's Famed Barberini Bees Revived - A New Bespoke Work by the Atelier Sacra Domus Aurea

Maffeo Barbarini, who is better known to Catholic history as Pope Urban VIII, reigned as Roman Pontiff from the years 1623-1644. If one looks around Rome one of the most iconic symbols that one can routinely find in the Eternal City, along with "S.P.Q.R." or Romulus and Remus -- Rome's founders -- suckling from the she-wolf, Lupa Capitolina, are the bees of the historic Barberini family, frequently tied back to the personage of Pope Urban VIII.  It appears on fountains, in heraldic monuments, on the great baldachin of St. Peter's Basilica, in the halls of the Vatican, and it also even appears on some sacred vestments -- vestments coming from the time of Urban's pontificate.

A gold coin featuring Urban VIII

While the symbol of the bees is tied to the Barberini family in general, it has also caught something of the Catholic imagination over the years, perhaps in great part because of how iconic these bees have become associated with Rome, particularly baroque Rome, and perhaps also in part due to their Christian symbolism (community, charity and industriousness, etc.) and even for reason that they are called out specifically in one of the most exalted texts of the Christian liturgical year, the Exsultet, proclaimed during the Easter Vigil.

Whatever the reason, they have certainly captured the imagination of many and so it was that I was very pleased to see that the atelier Sacra Domus Aurea have taken the steps to recreate this beautiful Roman liturgical textile of Pope Urban VIII, one that includes the characteristic cluster of three bees as well as the other beautiful floriated design found within it. 

Sacra Domus Aurea's exclusive, bespoke Barberini silk

But even going beyond this, they recently completed a commission for one of their clients which not only utilized this particular bespoke textile, it also picked up on some of the embroidered designs found within the orphreys of the well known red Solemn Mass set of Urban VIII's pontificate, located today in the lower treasury museum of the papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. 

The historical red Solemn Mass set of the Barberini pope, Urban VIII found in the lower treasury museum of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

Sacra Domus Aurea's own set adopts the 'Neri' shape (though one can readily enough see how this same design could be applied within a Roman or even gothic cut as well) and as they themselves rightly point out, it seems especially apropos to use a set such as this at a time like Easter (and in particular the Easter Vigil) at which time the bees so characteristically figure into the liturgical symbolism of the Easter liturgy and Paschal candle. However, there's no question a set like this could as equally be used at any other solemnity of the liturgical year that calls for white/gold vestments. Let's take a look at it.

A truly beautiful and uniquely Roman set.  If you are interested in learning more about the work of Sacra Domus Aurea, we would invite you to visit their website or to find them on social media. 

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