CANDELIERE. -
I. LITURGY
The liturgical candelabrum derives its origin from the customary furnishings of Roman houses, and for this reason its form has nothing specifically sacred about II. The earliest Christian iconographic examples are found in funerary art. S. Atanasio (Epist. Encyclica, 4: PG 25, 229) speaks of candelabra affixed to the walls of the church, removed by the pagans, who also took away the candles to light them before the idols: Prudenzio notes a golden candelabrum (Peristephanon, II, 5, 71: PL 60, 300), and the Statuta Ecclesiae Antiquae (Denz-U, 154) require that the ordination of the acolyte be performed by the handing over of the cereoforaleum. In the Ordines Romani, in fact, it is the duty of the acolytes to carry before the Pontiff the septem cereostata, which were of gold and silver, or two before the Gospel (Ordo Rom., I, 8; 3, 1; 11, 1). The Lib. Pont. also frequently speaks of candelabra donated to basilicas. We have no indication of whether the candelabra that preceded the celebrating Pontiff were placed on the altar when he reached II. In the oldest representations of altars, candelabra never appear. On the ivory cover (9th cent.) of a Gospel book preserved in Frankfurt am M., the two candelabra are placed beside the altar. The various Consuetudines of the 11th and 12th centuries speak of candelabra placed before and behind the altar. At the same period, however, altars with candelabra also appear. The first to suppose that they were placed on the altar is Innocenzo III (De Sacro Altaris Mysterio, II, 21: PL 217, 811). A very ancient practice, on the contrary, was to place small candelabra on processional crosses and on the ciboria of altars, or on iconostases. Nowadays there are some with as many as thirty or forty, contrary to all rules, including aesthetic ones.Ecclesiastical legislation requires that candelabra be placed on the altar surface. The Decreta authentica, no. 3759, permit candelabra to stand on the small raised platform that completes the rear part of the altar, while affixing them to the wall remains forbidden (Decr. aut., no. 3137, 1 and 4). The Caeremoniale Episcoporum would have the candelabra on feast days made of silver, or at least of gilded bronze or copper, and graduated in such a way that the two central ones are the tallest, with the cross higher than these. But general usage is by now contrary to this (Decr. aut., no. 3035, 7): V. CERO, CEROFERARIO.
II. ART
Any support in wood, iron, or stone intended to hold candles. In the particular usage, the term refers to that of the altar; if it is large or intended for several candles, it is generally called a candelabrum. From written records and representations, we know that the candelieri of the early Christian period and the early Middle Ages generally took the form of a stem resting on three or four feet and supporting a cup. They were made of bronze, silver, and gold. During the Romanesque period, the decorative taste of the time was reflected in the candelieri. Examples include the silver ones in Hildesheim Cathedral and the magnificent candelabrum in Milan Cathedral, the work of Nicola di Verdun.In the Gothic period, the shaft, base, and knobs of the candeliere became increasingly dense with ornamentation reflecting the characteristic forms and decorative motifs of the new style. Such is the candeliere donated by Doge Cristoforo Moro (1462–71) to St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. In the Renaissance, the candelieri clearly reflected the architectural taste of the period and the importance then attributed to the beauty of forms in every human activity. Examples include the candelieri by Andrea Riccio for the Church of the Santo in Padua and those by Antonio Gentili in the treasury of St. Peter’s in Rome. Benvenuto Cellini, too, made candelieri for the bishop of Salamanca.
The new decorative richness reflected in churches during the Baroque period also manifested itself in the candelieri, which were often designed by the same goldsmith-sculptors who executed the crosses and altar cards that furnished the same altar in a unified manner. Gian Lorenzo Bernini certainly offered his advice regarding the bronze candelieri made for St. Peter’s during the pontificate of Alexander VII. Among the candelieri of the eighteenth century, mention should be made of the beautiful examples by Arrighi and other Roman goldsmiths and sculptors, produced during the pontificate of Benedict XIV for the chapel of St. John in S. Rocco in Lisbon.
In modern production, besides repeating ancient forms, there is also an attempt to give candelieri the simple and essential lines suited to the taste of the new architecture.
Emilio Lavagnino
III. - FEAST OF THE C. - In Sassari, the feast of the c. is still celebrated with great pomp on 14 August, for the Assumption. It is so called because seven enormous c. (formerly there were eight) are carried in procession; they are wooden constructions composed of three parts: the pedestal, supported by poles borne by eight men; the column, approximately 3 m high; and the capital, variously ornamented in a style combining popular and Baroque taste.
Each c. corresponds to one of the eight corporations (in the dialect, gremi) into which the people of Sassari were organized (four major ones, of the rustici; and four minor ones, of the cittadini). In the early morning, the standard of the gremio of the massai (farmers) is taken to the municipal palace and displayed together with the Sardinian flag and that of the Municipality, while the bases and columns of the c. are transported to the church of the Rosary, with the capitals remaining at the homes of each of the heads of the seven gremi, who are responsible for decorating them with tassels, ribbons, and little flags. The procession is formed; as it passes before the Municipality, it gives the mayor and the municipal council the opportunity to hand the flag to the head of the massai, while the pages and mace-bearers salute by striking the silver maces specially made from the very beginning of the feast. The ceremony concludes in the church of S. Maria, where the c. are placed near the Assumption, who in Sardinia is always represented lying on her deathbed. The feast continues until evening, with the firing of firecrackers and amid merriment and dancing. It was instituted in 1580, when a cruel plague came to an end, its cessation coinciding precisely with the feast of the Assumption. The citizens who had escaped the scourge vowed a hundred-pound wax candle to the Virgin. Then each gremio wished to offer its own; in time, the candles were replaced by large c. with lit torches; and since these caused some damage, the present wooden constructions were eventually adopted. Following the example of Sassari, the feast of the c. also spread to some nearby towns, such as Nulvi and Ploaghe. Apart from the historical circumstance that gave rise to the feast, it should be regarded as one of the manifestations of popular worship, which find frequent analogies in the customs of other regions. - Vedi Tav. XLI.
#### CANDELORA: V. PURIFICAZIONE.