Category: Symbols

The symbology of the Rotunda of Saint Thomas

A pretty tree-lined avenue leads to the Rotunda of Saint Thomas. Fallen orange and brown leaves cover the ground. Although the autumn advances with an atmosphere of transience, the centuries-old trees on either side of the short walkway seem not care. The graceful place gives a lot of tranquillity and inspires inner peace. Under a…
The trulli of Alberobello and the mysterious pictograms

Alberobello is a cute little town in Puglia. Nestled against the gentle slopes of the Murge Plateau, the village is spread over a hillside. It owes its fame to the typical conical buildings made of the local dry limestone. These are the “trulli”: buildings of ancient origin, whose mysterious construction techniques have been preserved over…
The Flower of Life, symbol of rebirth

It is a fascinating journey to trace the “Flower of Life,” a modern term used to refer to the geometric representation of a hexapetal flower that belonged to different eras and civilizations1. Similar depictions were found in Europe, the Middle East and ancient Egypt. It is not always possible to fully reconstruct the meaning of…
The symbolism of the lion

The figure of the lion has always raised great fascination and concern in human beings because of its majesty and, at the same time, ferocity. It constitutes, from the earliest times, a metaphor of the enemy-animal to defend against in order to safeguard life. The Lion-man of Holenstein A particular evidence of this ancestral state…
The Spiral, symbol of life

In the apparent chaos of nature, early man recognized repeated shapes and signs. He perceived recurring geometries that revealed the presence of a divine order. Circles, triangles and squares defined the structure of matter, so in the flowers of the fields, in the mountains, in the bodies of living beings. Figures combining with each other…
The Labyrinth between history and mythology

In ancient cultures, the symbol of the labyrinth spread throughout the Mediterranean from a single cultural center1. It is the etymon of the term, though clouded by the mixture of myth and reality, legend and history, that provides some possible clues to its origins. From the Greek labýrinthos (λαβύρινθος2) it can be traced back to…
The ancient symbolism of the almond or vesica piscis

The myth tells of a Greek maiden named Phyllis, daughter of the king of Thrace, and her tragic love for Demophon. The hero, who had stopped there on his way back from the Trojan War, promised to marry her as soon as he finished his duties in Athens. But many years had passed, Demophon had…
The Christograms and the Monogram of Christ

The arrival of Christ defines a clear dividing line in history. It originated an uninterrupted succession of events that have influenced the cultural contest of Europe until now. Some examples are the birth of the Church; early Christian, Lombard and Byzantine periods; the Catholic civilization during the Middle Age; the discovering of America… Nevertheless, the…
The symbology of the knotted columns

Hearing about columns might seem like a bore. What could there be besides the structural function of this circular architectural element? Only its artistic uses come to mind, particularly the classical orders defined by Vitruvius. It is more difficult to imagine, however, the depth of symbolic meanings attached to the concept of columns. They acquired…
The Sator Square, an enigma that crosses history

When faced with the discovery of a Latin epigraph of uncertain meaning, written in such a way as to be palindromic in every direction, there is already the perception of dealing with an enigma. A mystery that appears as much deeper as its outlines are blurred. As incomprehensible as the cultural and archaeological context to…