Confraternity dress - (Liguria)

Archconfraternity Nativity of Maria SS. and San Carlo

The liturgical habit of the Brothers is there  white cape, it indicates the renewal of baptismal promises and is the heir of the one worn in 1399 by the "Whites" of Provence; on the left shoulder, as indicated by the "Rule of San Carlo", a statute issued by Borromeo for the post-Tridentine reform of the Confraternities, the initials  NMM, acronym for "Nativity of Maria Masone".
The  red track  instead it indicates the blood of Christ and the knots at its ends recall the scourges, a symbol of penance.
Depending on the circumstances and the grade, the color of the  "tabarrino"  , a short velvet cape. The tabarrino is red for ordinary functions, black for penitential and funeral functions and for the bearers of the Crucifix, blue for the brothers responsible for carrying the banner and for the "Cappe di testa", ie the Confreres who open the procession. The tabarrini dei Priori have a silver plate on the front called  "footprint"  with the effigy of San Carlo Borromeo.
The bearers of the Crucifixes also carry the tied to life  red "mandillo", the typical popular handkerchief, used to wipe away sweat during hard work; they also wear it  "scapussu", a white hood curled around the head used to protect oneself from the heat during the summer processions. The “scapussu” is also worn in the Good Friday procession by the disciplined (from the name "discipline" or scourge); in ancient times it was lowered on the face leaving only the holes for the eyes, but it was forbidden by the Republic of Genoa for reasons of public order and in more recent times, by the laws in force.