Feast of Saint John 2017

The Crosses of Saint John

HOMAGE TO THE ARCHBISHOPRIC AND THE MUNICIPALITY OF FLORENCE ON THE DAY OF THE PATRON SAINT

On the occasion of the Feast of St John the Baptist, the Society of St John the Baptist presents the authorities of Florence with a cross reproducing the sacred symbol represented in a painting or sculpture, in one of the works produced over time by the splendid Renaissance art.

The St. John’s Cross is traditionally created and donated by Master Goldsmith Paolo Penko, again this year in collaboration with his son Riccardo.

The work, made of silver, is shaped with the ancient technique of lost wax casting, pierced, chiselled, engraved and embellished with enamels.

The tribute, which is part of the centuries-old Florentine tradition of precious craftsmanship, consists of a base representing the tiburium of one of the oldest monuments of Florentine civilisation, the Baptistery.

This gave rise to two symbols of the city, one civil and the other religious: the Florentine Lily, embellished with the coat of arms of the Society of St John the Baptist, and the Cross.

The Cross is inspired by the one depicted in the panel painting by Francesco del Cossa, kept in the Pinacoteca di Brera.