The flickering candles that create a warm, intimate atmosphere in our rooms are all made according to the traditional candle making techniques.

Today, candles are used as decorative accessories. We buy them to decorate our homes and we use them as air fresheners or to create a cosy atmosphere.
But things were different in the past…

Candles had tremendous importance, because they were the only source of illumination after the sunset, when it was dark. Even the streets were illuminated by candles!

That’s why the role of candle makers was crucial. These “craftsmen” used wax to produce different means of illumination (not only candles, but also tea lights or torches).

Wax was obtained by submerging honeycombs in boiling water. In this way, the wax released came to the surface and, after the water cooled down, it solidified and formed a “cover”.
Afterwards, this block was liquefied in a cauldron with some hot water and then put in some wooden vats. After cooling down and going through other processes, wax was divided into slices that were exposed to the sun to undergo whitening.

After whitening, wax was liquefied again and poured in some moulds, where it started to coagulate. The candle making had finally begun.

Several wicks were tied to a circular structure and submerged all together and for several times in hot wax, so that the cylinder that kept taking shape could reach the desired thickness. After that, in order to make their surface smoother and regular, candles were rolled on a polished wooden surface.

Eventually, one of the candle ends was rounded with a blade, in order for the wick to come out: candles were hung again on the circular structure, where they dried.

You might be wondering why we have talked about candle making.
The answer is very simple: here at Sextantio, we use candles that are made by hand according to the ancient methods, to make the atmosphere even more suggestive.
Every detail has been conceived to take you back in time!