To: SAMWolf
LOL! I can't find "baldacchino" in any dictionary that I own. Nor can I find the word in any online dictionary.
Apparently, it is Italian for "canopy", and in this usage, a "canopy" over an altar.
In 1623 Maffeo Barberini ascended the papal throne as Urban VIII, and with great ruthlessness and excellent taste inaugurated the Baroque embellishment of Rome. The completion of the decoration of St Peter's was to occupy most of the century, and from the start Bernini was at the centre of the plans of the Pope and the innumerable Barberini Cardinals. The Baldacchino was begun in 1624.
So my day hasn't been a total loss. Not only did I learn what a Baldacchino was, but I now know who designed the first one and when! I love 'dis country!
81 posted on
05/29/2004 10:43:20 AM PDT by
snopercod
(Freedom can be preserved only if it is treated as a supreme principle which must not be sacrificed)
To: snippy_about_it
Sorry Snippy, I meant to address my the previous post to you as well. (Thank you for being ladylike ;-)
82 posted on
05/29/2004 10:44:59 AM PDT by
snopercod
(Freedom can be preserved only if it is treated as a supreme principle which must not be sacrificed)
To: snopercod
LOL! I had to look up the word too, and Snippy gave me the "usage" of the term. Seems to have a religious connotation, wonder how long before the ACLU gets into the act?
83 posted on
05/29/2004 11:10:09 AM PDT by
SAMWolf
(Home is where you hang your @.)
To: snopercod
LOL. The tricky part is the italian version is with two c's but most dictionaries list it with one c. Either way you are correct, a canopy usually over an alter. ;-)
Now if they were brass rather than bronze....
118 posted on
05/29/2004 1:22:58 PM PDT by
snippy_about_it
(Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
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