The origin of the candle holders of Sassari

The Feast of the candle holders of Sassari has its roots in the Middle Ages, when the Sardinian city was under the control of the Republic of Pisa (XII-XIII century). The Pisans, in fact, introduced the rite of the donation of wax (oblazione dei candeli) to the island. Celebrated in the motherland during the Feast of the Assumption by the Association of Arts and Trades, the ceremony included the installation of a predetermined amount of (finely crafted) wax on wood machines of varying degrees of artistry, decorated with banners and flags and painted with scenes from the city’s history or the Bible. In Pisa, originally, the machine that housed the offering of wax to the Virgin (the candle) consisted of a rectangular or square shaped tabernacle. Over time, however, this figure was supplanted by the more graceful columns, the capitals of which had wax placed on them: the candle holders. The Pisans residing in Sassari, in accordance with the provisions of the Statutes of the Republic, were obliged to celebrate the oblazione dei candeli even outside the city walls. At one point however, the ritual of wax in the land of Sardinia was lost, with the abandonment of the island by the Pisans, following a historic military defeat inflicted by rival Genoa (1284). It was not until 1528 that the tradition was restored permanently. During this period the Feast of the candle bearers as we know it today was established and renewed in later centuries as a vow to the Virgin Mary for the cessation of the plague.