Cereria Pernici is a leading candle manufacturer. Founded in 1892, the business has grown over the decades from a simple family-run enterprise into a comprehensive industrial complex capable of meeting any requirement. All candles are produced using selected, high-quality raw materials (such as pure cotton wicks and non-toxic dyes) and are handmade. A history spanning 130 years, rooted in the centuries-old tradition from which the objects we now call candles derive.
It is a story stretching back millennia, during which the “candle” has undergone major changes and developments to reach the form we all know and love today. First of all, period texts and illustrations do not allow us to establish with certainty whether the lamps (in use since the end of the 2nd century BC) correspond to our definition of a candle or are simply wax torches. Nevertheless, we know that, long before torches and candles came into being, people’s homes were lit by oil lamps and lanterns.
Of course, the use of torches inevitably led to the production of soot and strong (often unbearable) odours. It was probably only after the birth of Christ that a form of candle similar to what we know today was developed: wax that is made to burn around a wick (without the need for a container). The Romans further developed this concept, creating short wax candles capable of burning indoors without producing soot. In the centuries that followed, largely thanks to Christianity, the use of candles saw a significant surge.
During the Middle Ages, beeswax candles became increasingly widespread (a very expensive commodity available only to certain privileged sections of the population). In most homes, tallow candles (made from beef kidney fat) were used, which gave off a pungent, rancid smell (a situation completely at odds with today’s, where candles are produced and used primarily for their fragrances).
In the centuries that followed, candles became increasingly widespread (particularly in the “high-society salons” of the middle classes), and, despite a number of innovations (such as the bleaching of the candles themselves, thanks to the use of a particular oil extracted from the skull bones of the sperm whale), candles continued to suffer from a common problem: “wax dripping”. It was only in the last century that new raw materials (such as paraffin and stearin) were discovered and put to use, and the wick was significantly improved, thereby finally eliminating the problem of “wax dripping”.
This brings us to the present day, where businesses such as Cereria Pernici, by combining tradition and innovation, are carrying on this long history, further developing this object which has accompanied collective human history over the last few millennia and which will continue to be part of it in the future. Indeed, one of the core values underpinning all of Cereria Pernici’s work is respect for the environment. This is why the vegetable-based waxes used are free from animal by-products and are completely non-toxic; furthermore, the wicks can be made of pure cotton (and therefore free from lead and nylon) or wood.
Thanks to this rigorous production process, which still involves hand-crafted moulds, Cereria plays its part in preserving and continuing the tradition of this essential tool.
