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 There are many hundreds of
small shrines, such as the ones in the photos, in
Naples, particularly in the older sections of the
city—that is, the Sanità
(the section in back of the National
Museum on the way to the catacombs
and the Capodimonte
hill), the adjacent Vergini
quarter, the Spanish Quarter
(the square blocks on the west side
of via Toledo/Roma),
and the historic center of the
city (bounded by the three east-west streets of
"Spaccanapoli," via dei Tribunali, and via Anticaglia).
The shrines are usually found embedded in the outer
walls of dwellings to face on the street, but they may
also be in courtyards or in stairwells within the
buildings themselves. They almost all contain a
religious image—perhaps a crucifix or an image of the
Madonna or a saint, and some have dates telling you when
they were put in place. (They may be quite recent; this
is still quite a living tradition.) They are usually
clean and well-maintained and may contain flowers and
votive candles. There is usually an inscription saying
that the shrine was erected per grazie ricevute (for grace
received) or ex voto—in fulfillment of a vow.
Tradition says that the institution of these shrines, in fact, did make the streets safer at night; the collective candlepower of all the shrines made it easier to see where you were going, and perhaps the "spiritual light" worked its will, as well. Even thieves—ever devout—were reluctant to violate the Seventh Commandment with the Virgin Mary staring down at them. to main index to portal for traditions & customs |
In English,
"votive" refers to something done—in this case,
something built— in fulfillment of a vow, and an
"aedicula" (from the Latin diminutive of aedes,
dwelling) is a small structure sheltering an altar or
(in ancient Rome) an image of a household god. Thus,
"votive aedicula" would be an accurate rendering of
the phrase in the title, above. Nevertheless, I am
going to use "votive wall shrine" because (1) it
sounds better, (2) I didn't know there was even such
as word as "aedicula" in English until it jumped up
out of the OED and bit me, and (3) "edicola" in modern
Italian generally refers to a street stand, stall, or
kiosk. (Thus, I might foil perpetrators of really
rotten translations. "Promissory newsstand" comes to
mind. That is almost not a joke. I am particularly
angry with some local translators at the moment.)
Shrines
are certainly not new, nor are they confined to
Christianity, much less the city of Naples, itself;
yet, their abundance in Naples is noteworthy and
apparently has a precise historical origin.