✦ Origin of the Project

The project is born from a symbolic dialogue between
Saint Quirinus of Siscia, a 4th-century bishop and martyr,
and the Madonna SS. Incoronata of Foggia, a Marian icon deeply rooted in the popular devotion of Southern Italy.

Two figures distant in time yet united by a single thread:
the witness of faith, lived as a radical choice, sacrifice, and total trust in God.

✦ Artistic Collaboration

From this interweaving emerges an artist’s necklace, created through the collaboration between:

Maggi Controls
historic company specializing in religious medals

RichFree, overseeing the artistic realization with
Monica Frisone, Artistic Director
Alex Ricchebuono, CEO

A synergy aimed at creating unique and exclusive pieces, conceived as one-of-a-kind works of art.

✦ The Work

The piece is built around:

• a hand-silvered brass plaque depicting the Madonna Incoronata,
  minted by Maggi around 1937
• a Roman follis of Valens, minted in Siscia

The coin, originally a tool of imperial and religious propaganda, here becomes a tangible sign of the pagan world that Christian martyrdom is called to overcome.

✦ The Symbolic Dialogue

Saint Quirinus, who refused the state cult until his death in the Sava River, embodies absolute fidelity to Christ.
The Madonna Incoronata represents the maternal and victorious presence of Mary in human history, a reference of protection, hope, and miracle for entire communities.

In this dialogue:

martyrdom and coronation do not oppose each other but complete one another
the blood of the witness and the glory of the Mother

✦ Meaning of the Work

The “Passages of Light” necklace unites
numismatics, goldsmithing art, and devotion,
transforming fragments of sacred history into a contemporary object.

Designed to be worn as a sign of faith,
living memory, and silent prayer,
it becomes a small portable sacred space,
where matter and spirituality meet.

✦ Materials Used

• Roman follis of Valens (mint of Siscia)
  A 4th-century imperial coin, witness to Roman power and religion as a political instrument, placed in dialogue with Christian martyrdom.
• Hand-silvered brass plaque of the Madonna SS. Incoronata of Foggia
  (Maggi, ca. 1937)
  A historic devotional object evoking Marian protection and the popular faith rooted in the territory.
• Raw natural malachite
  Stone of the earth and creation, with veining evoking inner maps and spiritual geographies.
• Fossil coral from Southeast Asia
  Symbol of deep time, memory, and the layering of sacred histories.
• Antique red coral with concretions (18th century)
  Allusion to the blood of martyrdom and the fire of devotion, a vital and protective element.
• Faceted aqua-green jade
  Stone of passage and rebirth, associated with water as a place of death and new life.
• Baroque pearls
  Signs of protection and fruitful imperfection, linked to the ancient apotropaic function of sacred objects.
• Azurmalachite pearls
  Intertwining of blue and green uniting heaven and earth, matter and spirit.