**Preface**

This Special Issue is devoted to Material Culture and Religion: Perspectives over Time. It includes works from several researchers from different areas, focusing on the study of this theme and exploring investigations of the various forms of expression of religiosity through material culture.

Due to their longstanding commitments to religious tourism and material culture, the editors of this Special Issue were invited to assemble a collection of papers that showcased the different approaches to the theme, enriching the scientific literature on material culture and religion.

Across the papers, the authors tackle several important issues such as (i)"Determining the Characteristics of Faith-Themed Routes in Order to Receive an International Certificate: Studies on St. Paul's Travels", a proposal on St. Paul's Route to be certified by international organizations; (ii) "Pilgrimages on the Portuguese Way to Santiago de Compostela: Evolution and Motivations", based on the study of the evolution of pilgrimages on the Santiago Way, highlighting the Portuguese Way to Santiago—the Central Portuguese Way and Coastal Portuguese Way; (iii) "Cross-Cultural Encounters: Religious Motifs in Lattimo Glass from China to Italy", highlighting the crucial role of influential religious imagery in the formation of cross-cultural communication; (iv) "Visual Communication and Evangelizing Art in the Temple of San Francisco of La Paz", evidencing how interior architecture is used for communication purposes; (v) "A Transition Period Ritual of the Karay Turks: Death", an important turning point for some cultures; (vi) "The Development and Modern Transformation of Material Culture in the Worship of Mazu", which studies the development of material culture in the cult of the popular goddess Mazu; (vii) "Paradisi porta—An Iconographic Analysis of Mary as a Humanity's Mediator in the Light of Medieval Liturgical Hymns", highlighting the rich doctrinal meanings underlying the textual and iconic designation of the Virgin Mary as the gate of Heaven; (viii) "Gold, Skin, and Body: Chinese Buddha Statues Are Constantly Being Shaped and Stripped", typical examples of cultural communication and integration between different civilisations; (ix) "Ecclesiastical Museums and the Pontifical Letter on Its Pastoral Functions", evaluating how the Letter remains actualised and adapted to contemporaneity in addition to the challenges and transformations now faced by museums; (x) "Two Pre-Islamic Places of Worship in the Tourism Landscape of the UAE", identifying challenges for achieving an appropriate integration with conditioning supply factors; (xi) "Performativity of the Memory of Religious Places through Sound and Image", explores and deepens the confluence between sound and image, linking and relating concepts; (xii) "Trade and the Mosque: An Investigation of Commercial Activities and Mosques in Antalya with Spatial, Legal and Functional Recommendations", discussing the functionality of mosques; and (xiii) "Interpretation of Funerary Spaces in Roman Times: Insights from a Nucleus of Braga, NW Iberian Peninsula", contextualising the funerary and religious architecture of the city, highlighting its relevance.

More than one author wrote these 13 papers, and it is usual for a paper to be written by authors collaborating with different or multiple affiliations. So, the authors' geographical distribution is varied: 30 authors are from eight different countries (Portugal, Turkey, Spain, China, Italy, Bolivia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates).

More inspiringly, the papers are also compelling examples of deep research, enriching the production of the scientific literature with different approaches to the theme of this Special Issue.

The Guest Editors wish to thank the authors for their contributions and for their commitment to improving their work, as well as the reviewers for their time and effort in analysing and providing important comments and corrections, and last but not least, the editorial staff for efficiently managing the review and publication process. We hope that the selected publications will have a lasting impact on the scientific community and will motivate other researchers to pursue these themes and their scientific goals.

> **F ´atima Matos Silva, Isabel Borges, and Helena Albuquerque** *Editors*
