Festal Venetian Hangings ~ Liturgical Arts Journal

Venice is of course a port city that was a hub of trade coming from both the orient as well as the middle east and as such, it was a place where many influences were to be found and it was also the entry point of many products which would come to have an influence throughout other parts of Europe. Certainly one of the major items of trade as far as Venice is concerned that of the textile industry and to this day one can see that rich heritage still preserved in Venice.

In the past we have discussed the use of festal red hangings -- hung around columns and the like -- for days of particular festivity and solemnity. While we frequently discuss this in relation to Rome (and secondarily Malta), one of the places that one still sees this tradition in most evidence is within the churches of Venice, usually coming in the form of red and gold silk velvets.

Today I thought we'd explore some examples of this in action.