Rome and Central Italy
Rome and central Italy form one of the European regions most densely layered with sacred memories. Within a few kilometres the religion of the Etruscans, the cults of ancient Rome, the Christianity of martyrs and saints, the Hermetic philosophy of the Renaissance and the Baroque taste for riddles overlap. This section guides the reader from the Alchemical Door of Piazza Vittorio to the Pantheon, from the underground mithraea to the Lapis Niger in the Forum, from Castel Sant'Angelo to the legends of Piazza Navona. It then widens to the Florence of Marsilio Ficino, the Sacred Grove of Bomarzo, the sword of Montesiepi, the Sibyl's cave, Spoleto, Orvieto, Assisi, Tarquinia and Civita di Bagnoregio. Each article tells of documented places, dates, works and figures, carefully distinguishing history from legend, because myth too, once its origin is known, becomes a key to understanding the landscape.
The Alchemical Door of Piazza Vittorio: Carved Symbols and Mottoes
The Magic Door on the Esquiline, last remnant of Villa Palombara: planetary symbols, Latin mottoes and alchemical sources of a unique Roman monument.
3 min read2Rome and Central ItalyThe Marquis Palombara and the Alchemists of Baroque Rome
Who Massimiliano Palombara was, the role of Queen Christina of Sweden, and how the legend of the pilgrim who left flakes of gold behind came about.
3 min read3Rome and Central ItalyThe Mouth of Truth: the Great Mask of Santa Maria in Cosmedin
The ancient origin of the great marble disc, the medieval legend of liars and the unfaithful wife, and the history of the church by the Forum Boarium.
3 min read4Rome and Central ItalyThe Pantheon, Temple of All the Gods and Sky of Stone
From Agrippa's dedication to Hadrian's rebuilding, from the dome and its oculus to the church of the martyrs: history, symbols and legends of the Pantheon.
3 min read5Rome and Central ItalyThe Mithraea of Rome: the Underground Cult of the God Mithras
San Clemente, Santa Prisca, the Circus Maximus and the Baths of Caracalla: where Mithras's followers met and what their images still tell us today.
3 min read6Rome and Central ItalyThe Lapis Niger in the Forum: the Black Stone and Romulus's Tomb
Discovered by Giacomo Boni in 1899, the Lapis Niger preserves one of the oldest Latin inscriptions and the memory of a place the Romans thought ill-omened.
3 min read7Rome and Central ItalyCastel Sant'Angelo: from Hadrian's Mausoleum to the Archangel
Hadrian's imperial tomb, Gregory the Great's vision in 590, the Passetto and famous prisoners: the many lives of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome.
3 min read8Rome and Central ItalyPiazza Navona: Domitian's Stadium and the Baroque Legends
From the ancient stadium to the Fountain of the Four Rivers, from the Bernini and Borromini rivalry to the August lake: Piazza Navona's history and legends.
3 min read9Rome and Central ItalyNeoplatonic Florence: Marsilio Ficino and the Careggi Academy
Cosimo de' Medici, Marsilio Ficino and the villa at Careggi: how fifteenth-century Florence rediscovered Plato and Hermes Trismegistus and changed Europe.
3 min read10Rome and Central ItalyThe Sacred Grove of Bomarzo and the Monsters of Vicino Orsini
Ogres, dragons, sphinxes and a leaning house carved in peperino stone: history, inscriptions and meanings of Vicino Orsini's Sacred Grove at Bomarzo.
3 min read11Rome and Central ItalyMontesiepi and the Sword in the Stone of Saint Galgano
The knight Galgano Guidotti, the sword driven into stone in 1180, the Montesiepi rotunda and the roofless abbey: history and legend in rural Tuscany.
3 min read12Rome and Central ItalyThe Sibyl's Cave and the Legends of the Sibillini Mountains
The kingdom of the Apennine Sibyl, Guerrin Meschino, Antoine de la Sale's journey in 1420 and Pilate's lake: the myths of the Sibillini Mountains.
3 min read13Rome and Central ItalySpoleto, the Law of the Sacred Grove and the Hermits of Monteluco
The Lex Spoletina on the sacred grove, Monteluco's holm oaks inhabited by hermits, Hannibal repelled and San Pietro's carvings: Spoleto's hidden side.
3 min read14Rome and Central ItalyOrvieto and Saint Patrick's Well, between Popes and Etruscans
Antonio da Sangallo's well commissioned by Clement VII, its two spiral stairways, the Irish origin of its name and the Etruscan city hidden in the tufa.
3 min read15Rome and Central ItalyAssisi, the Mystical Geography of Francis and Clare
The Temple of Minerva, the basilica begun in 1228, San Damiano and the Canticle of the Creatures, the Carceri hermitage: the sacred places of Assisi.
3 min read16Rome and Central ItalyEtruscan Tarquinia: the Painted Tombs and the Myth of Tages
The Monterozzi necropolis, the Tombs of the Augurs, the Leopards and the Orcus, the winged horses and Tages, the child who taught the art of haruspicy.
3 min read17Rome and Central ItalyCivita di Bagnoregio, the Village Suspended between Badlands and Saints
Etruscan origins, the 1695 earthquake, the footbridge and the figure of Saint Bonaventure: the history and legends of Civita di Bagnoregio in Tuscia.
3 min read18Rome and Central ItalyThe Egyptian Obelisks of Rome and the Dream of Hieroglyphs
From the Lateran to Piazza della Minerva: how the obelisks reached Rome, how Sixtus V raised them again and why hieroglyphs seemed to hide secret wisdom.
3 min read19Rome and Central ItalyThe Temple of Vesta and the Vestals, Guardians of Rome's Fire
The round temple in the Forum, the eternal flame, the Palladium and the virgin priestesses: the history, privileges and end of the cult of Vesta in Rome.
3 min read20Rome and Central ItalyHermes Trismegistus and the Sibyls on the Floor of Siena Cathedral
The 1488 Hermes panel, the ten Sibyls and Pinturicchio's Hill of Wisdom: the inlaid marble floor of Siena Cathedral and the symbols it holds for visitors.
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