The Sacred and Profane

Catholic religion appears to develop a new definition of its own behavioral codes. While ceremonies and architecture are codified to auto-celebrate and reflect the glorious past, when temporal and spiritual powers merged and were part of everyday cleric life and founded their values, today the clergy lives in a strange state of contrast. Contemporary society pressures it to confront with modern questions related with technology, globalization, consumerism, medias, and merchandise, values completely modified in the past 50 years. The clergy is the natural custodian of tradition and handlers of the past, but today it frantically looks for an up to date, to communicate with believers in a new and effective way. On the brink between the inner need to represent traditions and past authority, and the attempt to modernize in order not to feel marginalized from the contemporary society, following the guidelines dictated by the summit and individually declined, the result is a version of Catholicism that may appears sometimes awkward and funny. This series aims to explore this ridge-line, the difficult pursuit to harmonize traditions and present times. Most of these photos where taken in Rome centre of the Catholic religion, seat of the Pope, offices of the Holy See, of St Peter Cathedral and in other pilgrimage sites, where religion interlaces naturally (or unnaturally?) with commerce, tourism, marketing and public life.