Progetto Arte Poli srl

Customer’s request:to enhance the cathedral in bari with a candleholder for the paschal candle. Given the fact that the church is visited by many adherents of different christian faith professions, the client requested an artwork which would have a wide ecumenical and catechesis value. The challenges: to make a candleholder which would compliment the comprehensive art of the cathedral and would be characterized by a metaphorical style which everyone could easily understand.it was aimed to be another piece of the millennial christian path of this heterogeneous community. The artwork: The candleholder is inspired by the “exultet” of bari (x-xi a.c.), which invites the believers to exult for the fulfillment of the paschal mistery. The candleholder is bounded by scenes which recall the history of the safeness of the humankind. The several events described are all linked to the theme of the water. Saint bishops nicola and sabino, and two prophet are carved into base, accompanied by the symbols of the four evangelists at the corners. Master poli decided to engrave the holy jerusalem for the first image, as a way to communicate to those who look at the artwork that the safeness of the humankind has been in god's mind since the origin of humanity. From there, the scenes move on to the expulsion from the garden of eden to the resurrection sunday where god saves his people from slavery. The old testament scenes conclude with the depiction of the ark of the covenant. The new testament begins with a scene of the annunciation: mary is represented near the bees, which are the symbol of breeding in virginity. Jesus reveals himself as the messiah throught the faith of john the baptist during the baptism of christ and through mary's faith where the first miracle is performed at the wedding at cana. In conjunction with that episode we find the last supper which is intended to convey the beginning and the end of the jesus' missions of preaching. The passion is symbolically represented by the lamb, the same lamb of the holy jerusalem, and also the tree of life which revokes the cross and at the same time the garden of eden. The last image is the risen christ together with the apostles in one of his appearances before pentecost. He is the light in the world. We all exult with the words “exultet iam angelica turba caelorum!”, carved on the top of the candleholder. The artwork is 3 meters high and is carved out of one single piece of marble. The marble used (trani) is the same one used to build the cathedral.