L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T hanks to archae- o l o g y , h i s t o r y a n d a r t , t o d a y we know quite a l o t a b o u t t h e A n c i e n t R o m a n s , y e t , there are still some mysteries to unveil: one of them is cer- tainly that of the Vestals, the holy priestesses who ded- icated their lives to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and the family, whose wor- ship was considered essen- tial for the welfare and safety of the city. Despite not being particularly "famous," Vesta was an important divinity for the Romans, as she was sis- ter to Jupiter and Neptune, and daughter of Cronus - one of the twelve Titans - and Rea. Vesta was associated w i t h t h e " h o l y f i r e " t h a t burned in her temple, which was to be kept alive continu- ously by the Vestals them- selves. H i s t o r y b o o k s t e n d t o have a paragraph or two ded- i c a t e d t o t h e V e s t a l s , b u t usually not more: they were c h o s e n a m o n g t h e y o u n g daughters of Roman nobility, they were considered almost divine and they had to make a chastity vow - with deathly consequences in case they didn't respect it. However, recent literary discoveries give us a more complex and nuanced portrait of these young women, who had, yes, an incredibly important duty and strict rules to follow, but were also allowed to enjoy privileges that other women - and men, as a matter of fact - could only dream of. It all began with a trip to a R o m a n f l e a m a r k e t , n o t m a n y m o n t h s a g o . W h i l e perusing the many curiosi- ties-filled stalls, historian Luigi Manzo came across a 1 9 t h - c e n t u r y p a m p h l e t a u t h o r e d b y s o m e A . G . Frigerio, dedicated to the Vestal Virgins of Rome. In it, Frigerio had collected, we c a n i m a g i n e t h r o u g h a painstaking work of Latin reading and translating, all he could find about them in ancient texts, from Livy to Ovid, all the way to Seneca, Cicero, and Lucan. Fascinat- ed by his find, Manzo decid- ed to annotate it and propose it for publication. His work was picked up by Agora & Co., which printed Frigerio's book again, plus Manzo's notes, but with its old title, Storia delle Vestali Romane e del Loro Culto. In truth, Frigerio's book doesn't say anything "new," but has the great merit to bring together in one place all that Roman literature had to say about the Vestals: a vademecum about them. Their role, as we said, was that of keeping the fire of V e s t a b u r n i n g d a y a n d night: if it died, according to tradition, Roman civilization would have followed suit. Fire, we shouldn't forget, was at once a symbol of puri- ty and cleansing, and of life, because it represented the vital force of the sun. It was Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, to create the Order of the Vestals, the first of whom had been Rea Sil- via, the mother of Romulus and Remus. Initially, four Vestals were guarding the sacred fire, who became six under the rule of Servius Tullius. Becoming a Vestal was an honor reserved for very few, as only the daughters of the n o b i l i t y c o u l d a s p i r e t o become one. They were usu- ally chosen by the Pontifex Maximus, the head of the R o m a n p r i e s t s , a m o n g t w e n t y c a n d i d a t e s a g e d between six and ten, all of aristocratic origins and with both parents still alive. Their service was to last 30 years, during which they had the duty to guard the sacred fire and remain virgins. But if you think that living in a temple and keeping a life of celibacy and prayer is noth- ing to aspire to, you may change your mind when you find out about all the advan- tages tied to it. Vestals were financially well off and had slaves, they were guests of honor at all theater repre- sentations and at the circus. They would travel around the city in richly decorated litters and everyone, includ- i n g s e n a t o r s a n d m a g i s - trates, had to yield to them. If they crossed the path of a convict, he had to be freed. No one could touch them: their body, just like the fire they protected, was holy. V e s t a l s h a d a l s o m o r e l e g a l r i g h t s t h a n o t h e r women: they could be wit- n e s s e s i n t r i a l s a n d t h e y could intercede for defen- dants; they could write their own will at any time, which w a s h i g h l y u n u s u a l f o r women, who could usually only do so when they were of a certain age and had at least three children. Last but not certainly least, they had the right to be buried within the walls of the city. But as with anything in life, there was a darker side t o t h e g i l d e d c o i n o f t h e Vestals. If the sacred fire s t o p p e d b u r n i n g o r t h e y failed to guard the Palladi- um, a wooden statue of Pal- las Athena that, according to t h e l e g e n d , h a d b e e n brought to Rome from Troy b y E n e a s h i m s e l f , t h e y would be brutally flogged. If they failed to keep chaste, Vestals were prosecuted and tried by the Pontifex Max- imus himself. If found guilty, the woman was led to an underground chamber, left there alone with a lamp, oil and water to last for a few days, then walled in. In other words, she was buried alive and condemned to die of hunger and thirst. Y o u m a y w o n d e r w h y these women, considered v e r y m u c h o n a p a r w i t h divinities, were destined to such a horrifying death… and the answer is simple: Vestals were untouchable, so n o o n e c o u l d t o u c h t h e i r bodies, even to kill them. Even after they failed Vesta a n d t h e i r d u t i e s , t h e y remained a step above the rest. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI Statue of a vestal virgin. The Vestals were in charge of keeping the sacred fire of Vesta burning (Photo: William Perry/Dreamstime) The vestals, the real empresses of ancient Rome HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE

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