Reliquary

I leave what remains… Reliquia derives from the Latin verb relinquo, which means “I leave.” The Latin term reliquiae and the Greek “λείψανα” generally refer to “what remains,” specifically relating to the human body or part of it. In a Christian context, this word refers to a part of the body or an object that belonged to Christ, the Virgin Mary, or the mortal remains of those recognized as martyrs and saints, and more generally to objects that came into contact with them. After paying tribute to Mario Giacomelli with “io non ho mani che mi accarezzino il volto,” Filippo Sorcinelli’s new fragrance returns to Senigallia to describe a simply extraordinary place, rich in history and works of art, but also the guardian of important relics of the Passion of Christ: the Church of the Cross, considered one of the jewels of Italian Baroque. This oratory, dating back to 1608, was built at the request of the Confraternity of the Sacrament and the Cross, which is still active today and of which Filippo is a member, holding the specific roles of organist and artistic director. Reliqvia speaks of the walls lined with gilded wood, finely decorated with carvings and reliefs; it speaks of the incensed steps toward the great high altar, like a golden embroidery, inside which is kept the statue of the dead Christ, a 17th-century wooden work visible only once a year. But it also aims to synesthetically frame Federico Barocci’s altarpiece, the Entombment of Christ, one of the most beautiful works by the Urbino painter, completed in 1582 and for which he also designed the frame. Reliqvia is therefore a place to meet and evoke memory, to remember the passing of time, which becomes solemn and authentic gold, a message of corruptibility and incorruptibility. Reliqvia is the concrete trace, the final trace, to describe in life an existence above us, different and prodigious. It is the always closed cabinet, the precious custody of sacred men that makes us understand that time is precious and risks being consumed without leaving us a clear mark in life. Reliqvia is the nail of the Passion, incense layered and clouded by solemn and sacred years. There is no sacredness if the men of the sacred do not recognize it as such and exalt it in perfect rites. Reliqvia is the perfect space of the sacred. To touch the relics, to touch something that has been in contact with them, is a grace and a guarantee: this is why the Romans tore the veils that had covered the holy martyrs and in which the bodies of the pontiffs were wrapped. This is why the pontiffs were wrapped in those very veils. In the presence of the relics, the mentally ill are healed and the possessed and obsessed are freed; the blind regain their sight, the lame begin to walk again…

The fragrance is part of the UNUM collection. UNUM speaks of Spirit. Not just spirituality. It is born from the awareness that the Spirit goes beyond every border, embracing and pulsing the lifeblood of every people, treasuring its traditions without remaining sterile; UNUM, like an olfactory tailor shop open to every artistic contamination, wants to speak of the interior that is in each of us, celebrating that which cannot be touched by our hands. Free and infinite.