L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 4 dess of health and daugther of Asclepius, the god of heal- ing - with a snake coiled around her arm, and Apollo, the god of the Sun, but also of music, medicine, intellect and prophecy. With them, the organs and anatomical parts for which worshippers a s k e d t h e g o d s ' h e a l i n g intervention through the aquae calidae, hot thermal w a t e r s u s e d i n t h e G r e a t B a t h s , w h e r e t h e s t a t u e s were located: the palm of a hand holding money, per- h a p s t o e n s u r e g e n e r o u s donations after healing, but also the statue of a child in swaddling clothes, offered - we can imagine - to the gods and the healing waters to facilitate conception, or to increase fortune. Tabolli says that "Many ritual practices were connected to pregnan- cy, and natality was very important. This water, which is not drinkable, was used to treat liver ailments, facial pains and for fertility." The dig, which started in 2019 with the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and San Casciano's town council, also brought to light other statues, including a 3rd-cen- tury BC cherub, a sleeping ephebe, several ex voto and five thousand coins in gold, silver and bronze. T h e d i g ' s d i r e c t o r , Emanuele Mariotti, also commented on the discov- ery: "The campaign I had the honor and the pleasure to direct for fourteen weeks between July and October, obtained incredible and, at least in part, unexpected results. Both the findings and the sheer monumentality of the site exceeded our expecta- tions." It should be highlight- e d t h a t i t s e x c e p t i o n a l i t y doesn't only come from the way muddy, but intact, strata within the pools preserved so many artifacts and coins, but also from the early-imperial architecture of the very heart o f t h e s a n c t u a r y , b u i l t t o r e c e i v e t h e p o w e r f u l h o t w a t e r s o f t h e s p r i n g . B u t there is more, besides the sheer magnificence of the site, which is characterized by the high quality of its crafts- m a n s h i p , a s s e e n i n b a s - r e l i e f s a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a l details, and by the use of pre- cious materials like traver- tine. There is "the mystery of a large arch at the center of the structure, probably used as a monumental gateway to the waters," or that of a ter- raced building dedicated to water divination. Digs in the sanctuary start- e d i n 2 0 1 6 . T h e R o m a n Baths Project involves the Italian universities of Siena, Pisa, Florence, Sassari and Rome's La Sapienza, but also those of Dublin and Cyprus, with the support of the town of San Casciano Bagni and the Superintendence of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo. A year ago, a temple dedi- cated to Apollo was also dis- covered thanks to a strati- graphic survey carried out in an abandoned orchard, not far from the public springs of the Great Bath, which are still i n u s e t o d a y . H e r e t h e s e waters, known for their thera- peutical properties, reach the surface at 42C (107F). Forty- two springs, with a flow of 5.5 million liters per day. Traces of ancient buildings and artificial water pools along the hill led to a traver- tine altar dedicated to Apollo, which revealed the god pro- tector of the sacred com - pound. But, as it was to be discovered soon after, other divinities were worshipped in the sanctuary, including For- tuna, Asclepius, Hygieia and even the Egyptian goddess Isis. The temple, probably dat- ing from Augustan times, was built in an area already con- s i d e r e d h o l y b y t h e E t r - uscans, as proven by the find- ing of lead drops in the area, a sign of rituals carried out to honor Suri, an Underworld divinity close to Apollo. Lead, a metal associated with the nether world, was often gifted to the god and had an impor- t a n t d i v i n a t o r y f u n c t i o n , which enabled archaeologists and historians to connect the Etruscan Suri to Apollo. T h e R o m a n t e m p l e , known also to Emperors like Augustus, reached its apogee towards the end of the 2nd century AD. Those were the times of the Antonine plague, brought to the Empire by sol- diers who participated in the c a m p a i g n s a g a i n s t t h e Parthians, and that decimat- ed its population. With the spreading of Christianity, the p o p u l a r i t y o f t h e t e m p l e declined, even if the thermal baths kept working. In the 5th century, the sanctuary was closed and the statues once adorning its pools were sealed within them, perhaps during a ceremony. Then, the pools were closed with heavy stone slabs, and the statues abandoned in their mineral- rich waters, which preserved them for two millennia. The thermal baths, however, kept on functioning. The first ruins emerged at the end of the 16th century when the Medicis used the a n t i q u e m a r b l e s t o b u i l d their own thermal baths in Fontanaverde, where the Flo- rentine family had a palace and where some altars and relics were relocated. E x c a v a t i o n s i n t h e s i t e brought to light statues of Hygieia and Apollo, as well as a b r o n z e s i m i l a r t o t h e famous Orator discovered in Perugia, today part of the historical collections of the M u s e o A r c h e o l o g i c o Nazionale in Florence. But they also gave us something else: wonderful inscriptions in Latin and Etruscan, where we can read the names of powerful Etruscan families, like the Velimna from Peru- gia or the Marcni from the Agro Senese. All tassels of a large Italic mosaic, hidden only by centuries passed. Site director Mariotti first explored the healing waters of the sanctuary in 2019, and speaks with the enthusiasm o f a n a r c h a e o l o g i s t w h o made the discovery of a life- time: "We are certain this dig will deliver many more won- derful surprises." "The campaign I had the honor and the pleasure to direct for fourteen weeks between July and October obtained incredible and unexpected results. Both the findings and the sheer monumentality of the site exceeded expectations." A conservator at work on one of the smaller statues (Photo courtesy of Ministero della Cultura) Analysing and admiring the San Casciano dei Bagni's findings (Photo cour- tesy of Ministero della Cultura)

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