Mercanti, Laura and Giovanni Straffi — Quando L'Abito Faceva IL Monaco

Firenze, Edizione Polistampa, 2006. Hardcover. Ecru boards with dark brown lettering. Glossy white dj with color illus. and matching lettering. 237 pp. with 62 color plates and several bw illus. Text in Italian. Sixty-two "figures" of monks, preserved in the Diocesan Museum of Santo Stefano al Ponte in Florence, lead us in the fascinating and mysterious world of the religious orders. The rules of the various Institutes felt (remember the old saying that the dress is not the Monk / the clothes don't make the man), but also attributed the important task of specifying who was who and what role you covered. At certain times the habit took on a value that exceeded the practical function: some orders it also was worn at night; others not allowed to take it off even during serious illnesses. Clemente Pistelli writes in 1705 about the founder of minors regular clerics: "not aimed giamai (over hands) no part of his body naked; so that always slept dressed, and sometimes the socks, not rising from the legs, for do not leave them uncovered. " Each monk's habit well-annotated. A very original subject!. Fine/NF (a hint of shelf wear to dj) .