The nivola
See below
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Snapshot by Art'Idea The nivola See below |
| The “nivola”, or little cloud, in which the Archbishop of Milan is hoisted high into the apse to retrieve the Holy Nail – according to legend, one of the nails from the Crucifixion - on 12 September, and then to put it back on the 14th . Often in the period around this ceremony, the Cathedral exhibits its paintings illustrating the story of how St. Helena discovered the True Cross and other relics (including the Holy Nails) in Jerusalem and sent them to her son, the Emperor Constantine, in Constantinople. How one nail ended up in Milan’s Cathedral is a long, long story… |