Triduum of the Holy Nail and Rite of the Nivola

The Holy Nail has been kept in the Milan Duomo since 20 March 1461, when it was solemnly transferred from the ancient ‘summer’ basilica of Santa Tecla, by then in the process of demolition, to the new and larger Cathedral, still under construction in the area formerly occupied by the ‘winter’ basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The devotion to the Holy Nail, whose presence is uninterruptedly documented in the Milanese Cathedral from the end of the 14th century to the present day, has never waned in the Ambrosian people, but it was stimulated above all by Archbishop Carlo Borromeo, who inaugurated the evocative Rite of the Nivola and introduced the city Procession with the illustrious Relic of the Lord’s Passion. He wanted the Procession with the Holy Nail to be repeated every year on 3 May, the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, according to the ancient liturgical calendar. However, the attention of the worshippers was focused on the initial moment of the ceremony, that of the removal of the Relic. In fact, it was – and still is – kept in a tabernacle (always marked by a red lamp) placed at the top of the inner vault of the Duomo, in an eminent place that is inaccessible except by that particular ‘machine’ known as the Nivola. This name, derived from the Milanese dialect, designates a kind of ‘lift’, shaped like a cloud and decorated with painted canvases, statues of angels and draperies (dating back to 1624 in its current form), the only means by which one could reach the tabernacle of the Holy Nail. Also, through the Nivola, the precious Relic was returned to its tabernacle at the end of the celebrations, which lasted until 5 May.

Today, with the new liturgical order, the feast of 3 May in honour of the Cross has been suppressed, and therefore the Triduum of the Holy Nail, with the Rite of the Nivola, has been appropriately restored, also following the complex and lengthy work to consolidate the tiburium, through its placement on the three days (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) closest to 14 September, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On that occasion, at the beginning of Vespers on Saturday, through the Nivola, the Archbishop removes the reliquary containing the Relic, which is shown to the people inserted in a large gilded wooden cross. The procession, which in the time of St Charles from the Duomo reached the nearby church of San Sepolcro, is now held exclusively inside the Cathedral, at the end of Vespers on Sunday. Finally, on Monday evening, with a new ‘ascension’, the Holy Nail is placed back in its tabernacle that watches over the altar and the entire Cathedral from above.

The celebration of Vespers presided over by Archbishop Monsignor Mario Delpini (Saturday 14 September, 3.00 p.m.) and the vigil celebration at 5.30 p.m.; the Chapter Eucharist (Sunday 15 September, 11.00 a.m.) and Vespers at 4.30 p.m., and the concluding celebration of the Triduum presided over again by the Archbishop (Monday 16 September, 5.30 p.m.) can be followed live streaming on this Site (www.duomomilano.it) from the Duomo Milano Tv YouTube channel.