The Minor Basilica and Abbey of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is located in the city of Florence, built high on top a hill with a panoramic view of that storied Italian city. The basilica is, in point of fact, considered one of the premiere examples of t…
The Abbey Basilica of San Miniato al Monte
The Minor Basilica and Abbey of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is located in the city of Florence, built high on top a hill with a panoramic view of that storied Italian city. The basilica is, in point of fact, considered one of the premiere examples of t…
Dal Molin Stefano: Introducing an Italian Iconography Studio, Workshop and Supplier
If you are interested in the tradition of iconography, a tradition that has common roots in both East and West, then one studio and workshop you may wish to bookmark for your future reference is Dal Molin Stefano & C. SRL . This particular studio is situated in Italy, or…
Gebetsliga Chasuble by Ditta A. Gammarelli for the Emperor Karl League of North America
The Emperor Karl League of North America have collaborated with the Roman atelier, Ditta A. Gammarelli , to offer 00 by way of their own store -- a selection of vestments made by the atelier, and as part of their announcement about this new collaboration, they also shared a …
An Embroidered Rochet from the Late Seventeeth or Early Eighteenth Century
The Cleveland Museum of Art has an interesting object within their collections which belonged to a late seventeenth or early eighteenth century prelate. Now the Museum itself identifies this as being the alb but there is a question here about the accuracy of that designatio…
Romanitas: The Instructio Clementina and Eucharistic Banners Announcing Forty Hours Devotions
Forty Hours devotions -- or Quarant'ore -- are traditionally done during the period before Lent, often from Quinquagesima Sunday to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is during this period of preparation that the Blessed Sacrament would be exposed for an extended peri…
More Liturgical Curiosities: Another Set of Gilt Leather Vestments
Over the past months we've introduced our readers to the rather unique liturgical art of leather-based paraments. We have show some of the antependia that have been done -- including by contemporary workshops like Lutson , a company based in France who, to this day, stil…
FSSP In Urbe: Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini
The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini (Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims), is the FSSP parish in Rome. It is well positioned in the historic centro storico , near to the Ponte Sisto and the Palazzo Spada. Baroque in design, it dates back to the early 17th cent…
Before and After: Carmel of the Holy Spirit in Littleton, Colorado
I ntegration Design Group (as well as Conrad Schmitt Studios) were recently involved in a beautification project at the Discaced Carmelite Monastery in Littleton, Colorado. This project involved updates to a mid-twentieth century chapel. The chapel itself had apparently unde…
Ethiopian Liturgical Art at the Cathedral in Emdibir (Including Iconography of Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II)
While we've covered Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Christian art, that is, of course, not the sole expression of Christian liturgical art in the East. One of the more unique expressions and traditions of the Christian East is the liturgical art of the Ethiopian church and…
Better Approaches to Medieval Y Orphreys on Roman Pianetas
As the gothic revival took hold in the second half of the nineteenth century, one of the interesting things we can observe is how some started to take some of this medieval revivalism and sought to apply it to sacred vestments. We saw, at certain points, a revival of the fu…
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont: The Last Rood Screen in Paris
One of the most remarkable churches to visit in Paris is Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. Ideally, everyone with an interest in sacred liturgy should visit this absolutely stunning liturgical space. Inside is an actual rood screen, designed beautifully in a most creative way.
Book Review: The Great Sacred Music Reform of Pope St. Pius X by Dr. Patrick John Brill
One of the most important church documents a Catholic should read is the motu proprio, Tra le Sollicitudini . It was issued by Pope St. Pius X in 1903, shortly after he ascended the papal throne. This document marks the official beginning of the reform of the liturgy that ha…
A Survey of the Rococo Metalwork of the Austrian-Born, Tridentine Goldsmith, Giuseppe Pruchmayer
Giuseppe Ignazio Pruchmayer (1722-1796) was an Austrian born goldsmith who originally hailed from Linz though he would eventually make his way to Trent by the year 1750, before finally becoming a citizen of that city in the year 1753. Pruchmayer is, in point of fact, consi…
The Exquisite Polychrome Marbles of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Venice
The church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Venice is a Renaissance era church designed and built between 1481-1489 in the short span of eight years by the architect Pietro Lombardo and sons. The church is distinctive in many regards, including its distinctly Venetian charac…
A Survey of Some Recent Works by Atelier LAVS
A telier LAVS (i.e. 'Laus' -- the Latin word for 'praise') is an Italian vestment maker, active both online and also having storefronts in Santarcangelo di Romagna, Assisi and, most recently, Rome. The atelier is quite well known within Italian circles in pa…
Before and After: Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona
N ew Jerusalem Studios is a firm based in Phoenix, Arizona, which "specializes in theologically informed liturgical design for renovation and the creation of large scale sacred art murals." We have shared some of their work before and we are pleased to be able to s…
A Medieval Orphrey Repurposed Onto a New Chasuble
The Italian vestment firm Atelier Sirio are someone we have featured on various occasions, often time in relation to the excellent antique restoration work, but they also produce new vestment work as well (take, for example, some of their medieval inspired work ).
New Church Architecture: St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Wake Forest, North Carolina
The architects at O'Brien and Keane , based out of Arlington, Virginia, are a firm that we have featured here before and today I wished to share a specific project they recently completed in Wake Forest, North Carolina, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. This parti…
Spanish Splendour: A Luxurious Set of Vestments from the Early 1500s
The Renaissance has to be amongst one of the most elegant and noble of ages where vestment design is concerned. It is a period that is characterized by luxurious velvets and silks, as well as embroidered designs, both figurative and vegetal. I've often characterized it…
The Crux Sacra Vestment Studio in Thailand
The tailor at Crux Sacra Studio is working overtime to deliver the finest product at a reasonable price. He is a former lawyer, working diligently to create the most beautiful vestments possible in his native Bangkok, Thailand.
Resurrecting Old Vestments: Antique Vestment Repair and Restoration
Anyone who has a passion for antique vestments will know the story. You have a beautiful vestment that you've come across somewhere, there's only one problem: the vestments are dirty, frayed, or worn out in some capacity. At its worst -- something I've personall…
The Fifth Century Eastern Roman Church of Panagia Acheiropoietos in Thessaloniki
Continuing on with our consideration of 'Eastern Roman' (i.e. Byzantine) church architecture of the first millennium, our next stop is the church of Panagia Acheiropoietos in Thessaloniki. This particular structure has quite a long history. It was founded as a chur…
The Twelfth Century 'Uta' Chasuble of Marienberg Abbey
Located within Marienberg Abbey in South Tyrol, Italy, is an interesting and rare relic of a bygone age. It is the so-called "Uta chasuble" dated to the twelfth century -- specifically circa A.D. 1165-1170. It is named the "Uta" chasuble for the reason t…
