Photo of the Week: Statue of Giambattista Vico by Emilio Gallori Outside the Palazzo di Giustizia in Rome

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Remembering the Great Ferdinando Russo: Tenéssemo Nuje (Would We Have) by Cav. Charles Sant’Elia

Ferdinando Russo (November 25, 1866 – January 30, 1927)

Tenéssemo Nuje
Pe Ferdinando Russo

‘On Ferdinando, nu refrisco a ll’ánema vosta,
Cchiù ‘e na vota site jute ’o’ tribbunale
Pe difénnere ll’annore ‘e stu popolo,
Cu ‘e vierze vuoste avite dato voce
‘E’ viecchie surdate, piscevínnule,
Nonne e guagliune ‘e tiempe passate.
Avite osato pure prununzià ‘o nomme d’’o Burbone.
Avite pruvucato ‘o siquesto
D’’a tipografía d’’o Mattino,
Ma ‘a finale pure ‘e nemmice vuoste
Ve chiammávano «caro cumpagno».
Tenéssemo nuje ogge ‘o curaggio
Ch’avite avuto pe purtà rispetto
‘E’ mmuorte nuoste, sti vave atterrate
E maje scurdate?
Nce mettéssemo stu nomme ‘e Rrè
-Ferdinando-
‘E’ figlie nuoste?

Would We Have
For Ferdinando Russo

Don Ferdinando, bless your soul,
More than once you had to appear in court
To defend the honor of this people,
With your verses you gave voice
To old soldiers, fishmongers,
Grandmothers and children of past times.
You dared to utter the name of the Bourbons.
You provoked the confiscation
Of the Mattino newspaper’s presses,
But in the end even your enemies
Called you «dear friend».
Would we have the courage today
Which you had, to show respect
To our dead, these buried
But never forgotten ancestors?
Would we give this King’s name
-Ferdinando-
To our sons?

Feast of San Mercurio di Ceasarea di Cappadocia

San Mercurio Martire, Ora pro nobis

November 25th is the Feast of St. Mercurius, third-century Roman general and martyr. He is the patron saint of Toro in Provincia di Campobasso in Molise. It is said that during a battle against barbarian invaders, the valiant Mercurius received a shining sword from St. Michael the Archangel and led the beleaguered Romans to victory. Renowned for his martial prowess, the brave soldier was promoted to General by Emperor Decius.

During the persecution of Christians, the Archangel appeared to Mercurius again and assured him not to be afraid. Betrayed by one of the guards, the Emperor had him arrested, stripped of his rank and brutally tortured for refusing to offer a sacrifice to the pagan deities. Three times St. Michael healed his wounds until finally, the Emperor had Mercurius deported to his native Caesarea in Cappadocia and beheaded.

According to legend, many years later St. Basil the Great was praying before an icon of St. Mercurius and requested that Julian the Apostate would not return from his campaign in the Sassanian Empire and continue the vicious persecution of Christians. Suddenly the image of the saint wielding a spear briefly disappeared from the painting and summarily returned with a bloodied weapon. It seems the iconic warrior saint appeared at the Battle of Samarra and slew the emperor on 26 June 363.

St. Mercurius would repeat the miracle in 1098 at the Battle of Antioch during the First Crusade. Appearing on a hilltop with St. George, St. Demetrius, and an army arrayed in white, the celestial host led the outnumbered Crusaders to victory over the Saracens.

In celebration, we’re posting a prayer to St. Mercurius. The accompanying photo was taken in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church rectory in Newark, New Jersey. Evviva San Mercurio Martire!

Prayer to St. Mercurius

God of power and mercy, you gave St. Mercurius, your martyr, victory over pain and suffering. Strengthen us who celebrate this day of his triumph and help us to be victorious over the evils that threaten us. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen

Around the Web — New Essay at New Polity: “Pagan Laws and the People of God”

Reprinted from The War for Christendom ~ Center for Legitimist Documentation

By Matthew Scarince

New Polity: A Journal of Postliberal Thought recently published my essay “Pagan Laws and the People of God.” Here is an excerpt from the introduction, you can read the whole essay by purchasing the issue or subscribing to the journal here.

The dawn that dispelled the horrendous night that morn
Was not a Sabbath of rest but a Saturnalia of sorrow
The impious demon rejoiced in seeing the breach of peace between brothers
There never was greater slaughter, nor field so full of war
The laws of Christendom are turned into a rain of blood.
Thus the gluttony of Cerberus pleases the infernal powers.

— Angelbert, Versus de bella que fuit acta Fontaneto

These poignant verses describe the aftermath of the Battle of Fontenoy, a decisive moment in the fratricidal war between the three grandsons of Charlemagne. In the eyes of the Frankish poet, the order of the Lex Christianorum—the reign of peace—had given way to the old blood-soaked anarchy of paganism; the divinely instituted leisure of the Sabbath had yielded to a Saturnalia of debauchery. These verses could equally well describe the situation of Catholics in the modern administrative state, a model of state which has come to dominate the political life of many countries. The atrocities of the modern state are without number; for example, in America, until very recently, this form of state sanctioned at its highest levels the mass destruction of innocents in the womb. A growing school of postliberal “juridical thinkers” blame our moral and spiritual decay on the refusal to ground our law in the “Classical Legal Tradition.” They claim that the basic apparatus of the modern state is merely abused; politicians educated in the tradition of classical legal thought can and should adopt “the apparatus of the administrative state” to successfully adapt and adjust “broad positive instruments to changing social, economic, and technological circumstances.” This claim (and the booming juristic community that has rallied around it) lacks any sense of the traditional perspective which pits Catholic society and the Western European tradition of governance against the depredations of the pagan civilizations that it converted and conquered. From this perspective, the modern administrative state has revived the despotism of the pagans.

Premio Due Sicilie 2023

Photo of the Week: Statue of Giambattista Vico by Emilio Gallori Outside the Palazzo di Giustizia in Rome

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Manuale di Storia delle Due Sicilie

Adesso c'è ! Appuntamento il 5 Dicembre a Napoli, Hotel Renaissance Mediterraneo, h. 18.30

New Book — Homer in Sicily: Essays from Fonte Aretusa's 2022 Symposium in Siracusa

New title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• Homer in Sicily: Essays from Fonte Aretusa's 2022 Symposium in Siracusa edited by Stamatia Dova, George A. Gazis and Cathy Callaway

Publisher: Parnassos Press - Fonte Aretusa
Publication Date: November 3, 2023
Hardcover: $50.00
Paperback: $40.00
Language: English
Pages: 283

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Brief Excerpts from "The New Science of Giambattista Vico"

Giambattista Vico
(b. June 23, 1668 — d. January 22-23, 1744)

“As the popular states became corrupt, so also did the philosophies. They descended to skepticism. Learned fools fell to calumniating the truth. Thence arose a false eloquence, ready to uphold either of the opposed sides of a case indifferently. Thus it came about that, by abuse of eloquence like that of the tribunes of the plebs at Rome, when the citizens were no longer content with making wealth the basis of rank, they strove to make it an instrument of power. And as furious south winds whip up the sea, so these citizens provoked civil wars in the commonwealths and drove them to total disorder. Thus they caused the commonwealths to fall from a perfect liberty into the perfect tyranny of anarchy or the unchecked liberty of the free peoples, which is the worst of all tyrannies." [p. 423]

“But if the peoples are rotting in that ultimate civil disease and cannot agree on a monarch from within, and are not conquered and preserved by better nations from without, then providence for their extreme ill has its extreme remedy at hand. For such peoples, like so many beasts, have fallen into the custom of each man thinking only of his own private interests and have reached the extreme of delicacy, or better of pride, in which like wild animals they bristle and lash out at the slightest displeasure. Thus no matter how great the throng and press of their bodies, they live like wild beasts in a deep solitude of spirit and will, scarcely any two being able to agree since each follows his own pleasure or caprice. By reason of all this, providence decrees that, through obstinate factions and desperate civil wars, they shall turn their cities into forests and the forests into dens and lairs of men. In this way, through long centuries of barbarism, rust will consume the misbegotten subtleties of malicious wits that have turned them into beasts made more inhuman by the barbarism of reflection than the first men had been made by the barbarism of sense. For the latter displayed a generous savagery, against which one could defend oneself or take flight or be on one's guard; but the former, with a base savagery, under soft words and embraces, plots against the life and fortune of friends and intimates. Hence peoples who have reached this point of premeditated malice, when they receive this last remedy of providence and are thereby stunned and brutalized, are sensible no longer of comforts, delicacies, pleasures, and pomp, but only of the sheer necessities of life. And the few survivors in the midst of an abundance of the things necessary for life naturally become sociable and, returning to the primitive simplicity of the first world of peoples, are again religious, truthful, and faithful. Thus providence brings back among them the piety, faith, and truth which are the natural foundations of justice as well as the graces and beauties of the eternal order of God.” [pp.423-424]

* The New Science of Giambattista Vico, Cornell University Press, 1984

Also see:
• Ponderable Quotes From the "Scienza Nuova" by Giambattista Vico

Don Gesualdo Pittalà l'Ultimo Sindaco Borbonico di Bagheria

In Bagheria (PA)

157° Aniversário do Falecimento de S.M.F. El-Rei D. Miguel I

In Coimbra, Portugal

Download the Latest Edition of 'Il Portastendardo di Civitella del Tronto' at Ernesto il Disingannato

Click here to download the current issue (N. 29 Novembre 2023)

All previous issues can be found at ernestoildisingannato.blogspot.com

Random Thoughts as the End of Autumn Approaches

The spirits of Empress Elisabeth & Crown Prince Rudolf visiting Franz Joseph in the Kapuzinergruft, Wiener Bilder, Illustriertes Sonntagsblatt, 19 Sept. 1898

“The practice of recommending to God the souls in Purgatory, that He may mitigate the great pains which they suffer, and that He may soon bring them to His Glory, is most pleasing to the Lord and most profitable to us...When, therefore, they arrive in Heaven, they will be sure to remember all who have prayed for them." ~ St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Bishop and Doctor (1696-1787) [1]

My favorite time of the year, I love the first chill in the air, the donning of sweaters, the changing foliage, and, of course, the devotions to the dead. I don’t know about you dear readers, but I feel a deep-seated spiritual kinship with my ancestors and I do my best to honor their memories. Keeping with our traditions and Christian charity, it is our sacred duty to celebrate their lives and offer prayers to help assuage their suffering in Purgatory.

Certainly not limited to November, the month dedicated to the Poor and Forgotten Souls, there is so much we faithful can do for the holy prisoners. The most obvious and efficacious is to have the most holy sacrifice of the Mass offered for the repose of their souls. We should also visit them in cemeteries, compile necrologies, enroll them in purgatorial societies, privately light candles and pray for them daily, and make sure to pass on these ancestral traditions to the next generation.

Every day we should endeavor to help deliver the Holy Souls of Purgatory (the Church Penitent) to His Divine Majesty’s Glory through prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and penance. Furthermore, we can offer these works of satisfaction as heroic acts of charity enriched with many indulgences for their relief. In return for our succor, the Blessed in Heaven (the Church Triumphant) watch over us (the Church Militant).

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I'm convinced my ancestors and heavenly patrons are watching over me. Without going into detail, I've had several clear-cut preternatural experiences in my lifetime that cannot be denied or dismissed as mere superstition.

Trionfo della Morte (The Triumph of Death), c. 1446,
artist unknown, Galleria Nazionale della Sicilia, Palermo

“Happy are the dead!” Exclaimed George at last. “They have no more doubts.” ~ The Triumph of Death, Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863-1938)

Long fascinated by the painting, I’m posting the Triumph of Death, a type of danse macabre or memento mori, to remind us of the fragility of our lives and the inevitable demise facing every man, no matter his station or caste. Not to be confused with today’s gruesome depictions of gore and horror, which are merely meant to shock and nauseate the modern viewer, these medieval portrayals of death incarnate are intended to stir within us a sense of our mortality and encourage us to better ourselves spiritually and culturally.

"Vlad the Impaler"

Culturally speaking, we Duosiciliano Americans, have much to lose with the severing of our roots. Many of our folktales and customs (sacred and profane) are intimately entwined with our kinfolk and the afterlife. In Naples, it is said the face of death is known as that of a neighbor. Every castle is haunted and every abode has a house spirit (monaciello). Even the Church of Santa Maria la Nova is allegedly home to the ghost (as well as the bones) of the bloodthirsty Prince of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes—Dracula!

Yet another malady of assimilation and virulent secularism, the diminution of this symbiotic bond between the living and the dead is disquieting, to say the least. For us, there is a continuousness with our past. Devotion to our kin does not end with our parents and grandparents, it extends from generation to generation through the ages.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, November 11th, Feast of San Martino di Tours (Veterans Day)

Notes:
[1] The Purgatorian Manual, 2006, Refuge of Sinners Publishing, Inc., p.5

Photo of the Week: Painted Ceramic Tiles Depicting a Grape Harvest in Vietri sul Mare

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

"La Napoli Borbonica di Oggi" Tra Storia ed Eccellenze Campane!

In Bacoli (NA)

Celebrating the Month of the Poor and Forgotten Souls in Purgatory

On Halloween night, we left out some ossa dei morti e rametti (bones of the dead and twigs) for the poor wandering souls. We lit the way with a ceramic jack-o'-lantern given to me by my father when I first moved out on my own.

“We are told we must speak for those with no voice. Fine. The Reactionary will be the voice of the most silent among us. The blessed dead.” ~ Mark Citadel

As we all know, the month of November is dedicated to the Poor and Forgotten Souls in Purgatory. Traditionally a period of fasting and prayer, it begins with the Triduum of Death or Hallowtide, that is All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween), All Saints’ Day (Hallowmas) and All Souls’ Day, the commemoration of all the faithful departed. It is a time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is at its thinnest and the spirits of the underworld roam the earth. 

Keeping the traditions and familial obligations passed down to me by my forebears, so far this month I’ve attended the Holy Days of Obligation, lit candles, brought flowers and communed with my dearly departed kith and kin at the local cemeteries and offered prayers for the relief of the Souls in Purgatory. It is important to remember a plenary indulgence is obtained for the holy prisoners whenever the faithful pray for them in a cemetery. (1) An indulgence can also be granted to them by visiting a parish church or public oratory and reciting one Pater Noster (Our Father) and Requiem aeternam. (2) A partial indulgence can be gained for the Souls in Purgatory by reciting Lauds or Vespers of the Office of the Dead.

Deeply rewarding, I’ve also been spending my days contemplating my mortality, the reality of Hell, and how to avoid eternal damnation. In addition to venerating the saints, reciting the Chaplet and our daily indulgenced prayers for the Poor Souls in Purgatory, my Sanfedisti brethren and I will continue to make reparations to the Sacred Heart of Jesus with intermittent fasting, alms-giving, and Eucharistic Adoration.

(L-R) La Janara (the witch) and 'O Munaciello (the Little Monk). Long gone are the days I got to dress the kids up as characters from Southern Italian folklore.

Born and raised in these United States my family adopted the secular observance of Halloween. Despite what some may have you believe, there is nothing remotely occultic or Satanic about it. In fact, the way it was passed down to me was the frightening costumes were meant to scare off witches and other evil spirits. The custom is reminiscent of the centuries-old winter and harvest festivals across Southern Italy where locals—dressed as feral beast men, bedizened with furs, chains and cowbells—ritually parade around bonfires and piazzas.

Perhaps I was being a bit cheeky, but this year while taking my niece and nephews trick-or-treating I dressed up as a Spanish Carlist. After all, what can be more terrifying to effete modern sensibilities and evil spirits than a virile, militant traditional Catholic warrior?

More than just fun and games, it is also a time to recall one’s ancestors. Food is left out for the souls of loved ones, jack-o'-lanterns light their way home, and gifts (traditionally dried fruits, nuts, and marzipan) are given to children, not so much as treats, but as alms for the wandering spirits.

This year's shrine to Sant'Uberto
with newly acquired bronze statuette

Fortunately for me, Hallowtide is followed by the Feast of Sant’Uberto di Liegi (St. Hubert of Liège). I embraced Sant’Uberto and Sant’Eustachio (St. Eustace) as patrons after my father’s death, the same way I adopted Santa Giovanna d’Arco (St. Jeanne d’Arc) when my mother died. Unlike my mother’s namesake, I chose Sant’Uberto and Sant’Eustachio because they are the patron saints of hunters and my beloved paterfamilias was, among other things, an avid huntsman. I could have easily picked any number of patrons to represent his many interests, but the saintly venatores felt the most fitting to me.

Since the Feast of Sant’Uberto fell on a Friday this year [click here to see our Friday commemoration], we translated our celebratory meal to Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Relics, so we can partake in some meat (i.e. Sunday ragù). Unfortunately, I have not been hunting in ages and all the hunters I knew are long gone, moved on, or retired, so we had to do without game (rabbit, wild boar, venison, etc.) this year. As always, the ladies did a tremendous job.

Still only one week into the month, we have so much more to look forward to. There is literally something to celebrate every day of the year, but here are a few upcoming dates worth noting:

• November 11th is Veterans Day and the Feast of San Martino di Tours (St. Martin of Tours), Roman Knight (eques), Monk, Hermit and Bishop. I adopted San Martino as a personal patron after I was invested in the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George and strive to emulate his knightly example. Being Veterans Day (formally Armistice Day) we honor those who valiantly and honorably served our country, which includes some of my forefathers.

Prayer for Deceased Veterans

O God, by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest, look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their lives in the service of their country. Grant that through the passion, death, and resurrection of your Son they may share in the joy of your heavenly kingdom and rejoice in you with your saints forever. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

• November 16th is the Feast of Santa Geltrude la Grande (St. Gertrude the Great), Virgin, Mystic, Benedictine Nun, and one of the 52 co-patrons of Naples. She is invoked for the Poor and Forgotten Souls in Purgatory.

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great 

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my home and within my family. Amen. 

• The month comes to a close on November 30th the Feast of Sant’Andrea Apostolo (St. Andrew the Apostle), “the First-Called.” Patron saint of Amalfi and fishermen, Sant’Andrea is one of the co-patrons of the Fratelli della Santa Fede (Sanfedisti), our traditional Catholic men’s society (società di uomini) devoted to spiritual combat, heroic acts of charity, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Kingship of Christ.  

Prayer to Saint Andrew

O glorious Saint Andrew, you were the first to recognize and follow the Lamb of God. With your friend, Saint John, you remained with Jesus for that first day, for your entire life, and now throughout eternity. As you led your brother, Saint Peter, to Christ and many others after him, draw us also to Him. Teach us to lead others to Christ solely out of love for Him and dedication in His service. Help us to learn the lesson of the Cross and to carry our daily crosses without complaint so that they may carry us to Jesus. Amen.

Ever devoted to my ancestors and the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I implore my heavenly patrons to pray for their salvation (and mine), orate pro nobis. Requiescant in pace.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Notes:

(1) A plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions of confession within 8 days, the reception of Holy Communion, prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, and no attachment to even a venial sin, may be granted to the Poor and Forgotten Souls in Purgatory when the faithful visit a cemetery and pray for the faithful departed. 

(2) Requiem aeternam dona ei (eis), Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei (eis). Requiescat (-ant) in pace. Amen. Eternal rest grant unto him/her (them), O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him/her (them).

Photo of the Week: Statue of Giambattista Vico by Emilio Gallori Outside the Palazzo di Giustizia in Rome

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

"A Scuola di Politica," Seminario di Formazione della Fondazione il Giglio

"A scuola di politica," seminario di formazione della Fondazione il Giglio. Giovedi' 9 Novembre, h. 18.30, II° incontro con Guido Vignelli su "L' Azione", di Jean Ousset Iscriviti: https://form.jotform.com/221376000594349

A Few Bonus Pics From Our Recent Visit to the Met Cloisters

The Romanesque Apse of San Martín de Fuentidueña with architectural sculptures of St. Martin of Tours and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, limestone, Spanish, Castile-León, ca. 1175-1200, from the church of of San Martin at Fuentidueña, near Sergovia. Fresco with the Virgin and Child in Majesty and the Adoration of the Magi from the church of Era Mare de Diu de Cap d'Aran, near Tredòs, Spain. Crucifix, white oak with paint, gold lief, and tin leaf (corpus); softwood with paint and tin leaf (cross); Spanish, Castile-León, ca. 1150-1200

We had such a fantastic time and saw so many beautiful creations during our recent visit to the Met Cloisters in Washington Heights, Manhattan, last Friday, we felt compelled to share some more photos from our edifying excursion. Anyone with an appreciation for true beauty, reverence, and tradition, cannot help but be moved by the museum’s sublime collection of Medieval European masterpieces. I wish I could show you them all, but here are a choice few.

Cuxa Cloister, from the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, located at the foot of Mount Canigou in the northeast Pyrenees, Catalan, ca. 1130-40. In the wake of the French Revolution the monks departed and much of the monastery's stonework was subsequently dispersed

(L) Doorway with King Clovis I and King Clothar I, limestone with traces of paint, French, Burgundy, ca. 1250, from the abbey of Moutiers-Saint-Jean, near Dijon. (R) Ornate capital depicting the damned cast into Hell from the Saint-Guilem Cloister, French, late 12th-early 13th century. Following the French Revolution, many elements of the cloister were acquired by local citizens

Lion, fresco transferred to canvas, Spanish, Castile-Leon, ca. 1200,
from a room above the chapter house of the Benedictine
monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza, near Burgos

(L) Aquamanile in the form of a Dragon, copper alloy, North German, ca. 1200. (R) Sculpture of a Kneeling King, Sandstone, Spanish, Aragon, Ca. 1175-1225

Wall Fountain, marble, French, late 19th-early 20th century (Romanesque style)

Pair of Lions, limestone, North Italian, Emilia, early 13th century

(L) Lion Relief, Sandstone with traces of paint, Spanish, Castile-León, ca. 1200, from the church of San Leonardo at Zamora. (R) Capital with Lions Mounted by Nude Riders, stone, Northern Spain or Southern France, first half 12th century

(L) Blessing Bishop (St. Nicholas of Bari), poplar with paint and gilding, Italian,
probably Umbria, ca. 1350-75, from the parish church of San Nicola di Bari
at Monticchio near L'Aquila. (R) Figure of a King, oak with paint and
gilding, south Netherlandish, Flanders, ca. 1300-1325

Liturgical Comb, ivory, South Italian, late 11th- early 12th century

Altar Predella and Socle of Archbishop Don Dalmau de Mur y Cervelló, archbishop of Saragossa from 1434 to 1458/9, Francí Gomar, Spanish, ca. 1456-1458. Reliquary Busts of Female Saints, oak with paint and gilding, South Netherlandish, Brabant, possibly Brussels, ca. 1520-30

(R) Virgin and Child on a Crescent Moon, limewood with paint, German, ca. 1480. (L) St. Barbara, limewood with paint, Alsace, probably Strasbourg, ca. 1490

Nativity of the Virgin, limewood with paint, German, Lower Franconia, ca. 1480, from the parish church of St. Laurentius at Ebern, Bavaria, north of Bamberg

(L) St. Michael, Master of Belmonte (active ca. 1460-90), tempera, oil, gold, and silver on wood, Spanish, Aragon, ca. 1460-90, from the high altar of the parish church of San Miguel at Belmonte, southwest of Saragossa. (R) The Lamentation, walnut with paint and gilding, Spanish, Castile-La Mancha, ca. 1480, from the Benedictine monastery at Sopetrán, northeast of Madrid

(L-R) Hector of Troy (detail) and King Arthur (from the Heroes Tapestries),
wool warp, wool wefts, South Netherlandish, ca. 1400-1410

(L) The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (from the Unicorn tapastries),
1495-1505, French (cartoon)/South Netherlandish (woven), wool
warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts. (R) Bust of the Virgin,
terracotta with paint, Bohemian, Prague, ca. 1390-95

Also see:

• Celebrating the Feast of Sant’Uberto di Liegi at the Met Cloisters

• Celebrating the Fourth Faith-Filled Weekend of Advent

• Sacred Art From Abruzzo at the Cloisters

New Music — Mercadante: Il Proscritto

New music that may be of interest to our readers.

• Mercadante: Il Proscritto performed by Carlo Rizzi, Ramón Vargas, Ivan Ayón-Rivas, Irene Roberts, Elizabeth DeShong, Sally Matthews, Britten Sinfonia, Opera Rara Chorus

Label: Opera Rara UK
Release Date: March 11, 2023
Audio CD: $25.21
Number of Discs: 2

Available at Amazon.com

Read description

Don Carlo III di Borbone-Parma (1849-1854) Conferenza con Relatore Dott. Mario Zannoni

In San Possidonio (MO)

Celebrating the Feast of Sant’Uberto di Liegi at the Met Cloisters

Horn of St. Hubert, Léonard Limousin (ca. 1506-1575), silver, grisaille and polychrome enamel over horn, French, Limoges, 1538

Finally taking our postponed excursion to the Met Cloisters, my friend and I traveled to Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan Friday afternoon to visit Fort Tryon Park and the museum to celebrate the Feast of Sant’Uberto di Liegi (St. Hubert of Liège). Seeing as it was a cool and pleasant day, we first took a quiet saunter through the verdant gardens and hills, admiring the inceptive fall foliage and exploring its many winding paths overlooking the scenic Hudson River and Palisades.

A view of the Hudson River from the Linden Terrace in Fort Tryon Park

A few years since my last visit, the Cloisters used to be one of my favorite date spots. Serene and beautiful, I thought it was a romantic place to bring a cultivated young lady. Unfortunately, over the years commuting and crime in New York City has become a nightmare and curbed my willingness to make the trek as often as I used to. However, as someone who is brutally critical of the New York City Subway system I must admit this trip to and from the museum went as smoothly as can be expected.

Approaching the museum from one of the trails

A hidden gem, there were few other guests there that day, so we were able to peruse all the cloisters, chapels and halls, including the ongoing “Rich Man, Poor Man” exhibit in the Glass Gallery, at our own leisure. 

This copper alloy plate with wife spanking her husband (Netherlandish,
ca. 1480) was part of the "Rich Man, Poor Man" exhibit

Unquestionably, the pièce de résistance of the amassed treasures is the Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) from the workshop of Robert Campin (c. 1375-1444). A masterpiece of early Netherlandish painting, I promise you no reproduction I can show you could ever do it justice. Like Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Cristo velato (Veiled Christ) or Sandro Botticelli’s Nascita di Venere (The Birth of Venus), it must be seen in person to fully appreciate its transcendent beauty.

Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) workshop of Robert Campin
(Ca. 1375-1444), oil on oak, South Netherlandish, Tournai, ca. 1427-32

Perhaps it is the season and my current frame of mind, but I lingered a little longer in the somber Gothic Chapel giving thought to the stirring collection of sepulchral effigies, especially that of thirteenth-century chevalier Jean d’Aluye (d. 1248), son of Hugues V d’Aluye. 

Tomb of Ermengol X, Count of Urgell, limestone with traces of paint, Catalan,
Lerida, ca. 1300-1350, from the Premonstratensian monastery of
Santa Maria de Bellpuig de les Avellanes, near Lerida, Spain

Tomb Effigy of a Boy, probably Ermengol IX, Count of Urgell, Limestone
with traces of paint, Catalan, Lerida, ca. 1300-1350, from the church
of Santa Maria at Castelló de Ferfanya, near Lerida, Spain

(L) Double Tomb of Alvar Rodrigo de Cabrera, Count of Urgell, and His Wife, Cecilia of Foix. (R) Tomb of Ermengol VII, Count of Urgell. All three tombs are all limestone with traces of paint, Catalan, Lerida, ca. 1300-1350 and from the Premonstratensian monastery of Santa Maria de Bellpuig de les Avellanes, Spain.

Detail of tomb effigy of a lady, limestone, French, Normandy, mid 13th
century, from the priory of Notre-Dame-du-Bosc, near Le Neubourg

Curious about the provenance of the crusader knight's effigy, I discovered that it was once used as a bridge (!) and he is depicted with a Chinese sword—a detail this dilettante would never have discerned. While that interesting sword detail baffles scholars, I am more amazed by the fact that following the French Revolution the effigy was pilfered from the Cistercian abbey of La Clarté-Dieu and used facedown as a bridge over a small stream before being rescued. (1)

Detail of A Knight of the d'Aluye Family with mysterious Chinese sword

Detail of A Knight of the d'Aluye Family with hands palm to palm in prayer

A Knight of the d'Aluye Family, limestone, French, Loire Valley, after 1258-by
1267, from the Cistercian abbey of La Clarté-Dieu, north of Tours

Devoted to Sant’Uberto, I was more than a little surprised when we stumbled upon the Horn of St. Hubert and a limestone relief of St. Hubert and the Stag in the Boppard Room. Before our visit, I searched the museum’s website for any artifacts related to the great saint and nothing came up. I double-checked before this writing and learned I needed to spell out “saint;” I typed “St.” Regardless of the spelling, the horn doesn’t show up either way. Anyhow, I took it as a good omen and a sign our heavenly patron was watching over us.

Another look at the Horn of St. Hubert

St. Hubert and the Stag, limestone with paint, East French, early 16th century

Taking in as much as we could, there is not enough time in the day to adequately ponder and digest this wondrous collection of Medieval European art and architecture. We stayed till closing before heading back to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, for our celebratory dinner for the Feast of Sant’Uberto at Amunì Restaurant. Being a Friday, we do not eat meat so instead we enjoyed a little sarde fritte and pasta con le sarde. Evviva Sant’Uberto di Liegi!

~ Giovanni di Napoli, November 4th, Feast of San Carlo Borromeo 

Sarde fritte

Pasta con le sarde

(L) We set up a makeshift shrine to Sant'Uberto
at the restaurant. (R) My St. Hubert medal

Notes:

(1) Medieval Monuments at the Cloisters as they were and as they are, Metropolitan Museum of art, 1972, The Effigy of Jean d'Alluye, pp. 60-62