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I Luoghi sacri
 Ci si domanda perchè molti luoghi erano o sono ancora considerati sacri:
perchè questi luoghi e non altri?
In genere i luoghi sono sacri perchè contengono oggetti o forme sacre:
piante sacre, acque sacre, pietre sacre etc. A volte è il paesaggio
stesso la forma terrestre ad essere sacra, come per le montagne sacre
o per i fiumi, i laghi, i mari sacri. Le forme o gli oggetti, le cose
sacre spesso hanno il compito di "attirare" la divinità
o di "essere dimora" della divinità.
Diceva il filosofo Plotino (205-270 d.C.):
« Quegli antichi saggi che cercavano
di assicurarsi la presenza degli dèi costruendo templi e santuari e
statue, ..essi percepivano che l' Anima, sebbene sia rintracciabile
dovunque,la sua presenza puo' essere assicurata piu' facilmente quando
viene costruito un ricettacolo adeguato ,un spazio capace di ricevere
qualche porzione di essa,qualcosa che la riproduca o la rappresenti
e che faccia da specchio e che catturi la sua immagine...»
Sacred or holy places are found in different cultures,
past and present, all over the world. Such places are frequently marked
or embellished by architectural structures and art. Explore how
and why places become invested with sacredness. In most cases, it can
be shown that the sacredness of a place is linked in some way to natural
objects and features such trees, stones, water, mountains, caves, and
forms in the landscape. It can further be shown that these natural objects
and forms lie at the root of the forms and shapes employed to mark or
embellish a sacred site.
These same sacred forms and shapes
derived from natural objects and features become symbolic or emblematic
of the sacred or divine. When they are articulated in art and architecture,
they become not only the 'abode' of the divine, but also serve as a
means to entice the divine either to continue to reside at a given place
or to take up residence at a new site.
It is through
the art and architecture that the sacred or the divine is manifest or
represented. The philosopher Plotinus (205-270 CE) explained it this
way [Enneads, IV, 3. 11]:
Those ancient sages who sought to secure the presence of divine beings
by the erection of shrines and statues, showed insight into the nature
of the All; they perceived that, though the Soul is everywhere traceable,
its presence will be secured all the more readily when an appropriate
receptacle is elaborated, a place especially capable of receiving some
portion or phase of it, something reproducing it, or representing it
and serving like a mirror to catch an image of it.
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