title: Chemical characterisation, plant remain analysis and radiocarbon dating of the Venetian "Manna di San Nicola".
abstract: A sample of oil coming from the case containing the relics of St. Nicholas the Great, preserved in the church of "San Nicolò al Lido" (Venice, Italy), has been characterised by the determination of its chemical composition, its age (radiocarbon dating) and the presence of particles of biological origin. Experimental results show that the sample is a vegetal oil, with a fatty acids composition modified by natural oxidation processes, containing pollen grains of plants from Northern Italy, and dating around 1300 A.D. These results together with an historical and artistic evaluation of the ceramic jar containing the oil, allow us to hypothesise that the jar was introduced into the case after the arrival of the relics in Venice (1100 A.D.) during one of the official inquisitions prior to that documented in 1399 A.D.
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Padova, Dipartimento di Chimica Inorganica Metallorganica ed Analitica, via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy. atapparo@chin.unipd.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tapparo
authors.forename: Valerio B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Di Marco
authors.forename: G Giorgio
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bombi
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paganelli
mesh_terms: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D049691:History, Medieval; D007558:Italy; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000266:history; D018597:Saints / Q000266:history*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D010938:Plant Oils