Feast of Saint John 2016

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, as per tradition, is made by Master Goldsmith Paolo Penko, this year in cooperation with his son Riccardo.

The work, made of burnished silver, is shaped with the ancient technique of lost-wax casting, pierced, chiselled and engraved with a burin.

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 that depicted by Alesso Baldovinetti (1425-1499), represented in the ‘Madonna and Child with Saints’ known as the ‘Cafaggiolo Altarpiece’, tempera on panel, located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.