Suspended perpetual lamp (Ner Tamid) from Italy

The Ner Tamid ("perpetual light") is the lamp that burns continuously before the holy ark of the synagogue, symbolizing the divine presence and recalling both the perpetual lamp of the Temple and the flame of the menorah. Suspended above or near the Aron Kodech, it must never be extinguished. In Italy, these lamps take the form of pierced silver vessels suspended from long ornate chains, in refined silversmithing work close to that of mosque and church lamps on the peninsula. This object, at once functional and highly symbolic, occupies a central place in the liturgical furnishing of the synagogue.