Cimaruta

A sprig of rue in silver.

Also known as: Rue sprig charm

CulturalSpiritual & interpretiveQuiet profile

Meanings

The southern Italian silver charm cast as a branching sprig hung with small figures.

Culturally establishedTradition
Is hung in southern Italian tradition as a protective charm, particularly over a child's cradle.
Contexts: History, Public information
Culturally establishedVerified fact
Combines several distinct figures on one object, and the selection varies between examples, so no two are quite alike and no fixed reading of the set can be given.
Contexts: History, Public information
InterpretiveDocumented interpretation
Interpretations assigning a fixed meaning to each figure are largely modern reconstructions and are recorded here as such.
Fixed per-figure readings of the cimaruta are modern reconstructions.
Contexts: History, Public information

Visual description

A silver sprig of three branches, each ending in a small figure — a key, a crescent, a hand, a fish among them — hung as a single pendant.

A fuller structured visual breakdown is not yet documented for this symbol.

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

The symbols of religious and spiritual traditions
Religious-studies scholarship and the traditions' own published accounts · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity of a symbol and for the account a tradition gives of it, attributed to that tradition. Never cited for the truth of any religious claim. Where a symbol is sacred, restricted or contested, the record says so and does not reproduce restricted material.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27

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Meanings

The southern Italian silver charm cast as a branching sprig hung with small figures.

Culturally establishedTradition

Is hung in southern Italian tradition as a protective charm, particularly over a child's cradle.

Contexts: History, Public information

Culturally establishedVerified fact

Combines several distinct figures on one object, and the selection varies between examples, so no two are quite alike and no fixed reading of the set can be given.

Contexts: History, Public information

InterpretiveDocumented interpretation

Interpretations assigning a fixed meaning to each figure are largely modern reconstructions and are recorded here as such.

Fixed per-figure readings of the cimaruta are modern reconstructions.

Contexts: History, Public information

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

The symbols of religious and spiritual traditions
Religious-studies scholarship and the traditions' own published accounts · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity of a symbol and for the account a tradition gives of it, attributed to that tradition. Never cited for the truth of any religious claim. Where a symbol is sacred, restricted or contested, the record says so and does not reproduce restricted material.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27