L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T he North brought us tales of dragons and mysterious treasures but, moving dow n tow ards the coun- try's capital, things don't get less interesting. Here comes Flo- rence, with her unsettling Via Panicale's coat of arms, then Carbognano, near Viterbo - once even home to the popes - and the castle where Giulia Farnese, beautiful and mysterious lover of Alexander VI Borgia, spent her happiest days. It's time to begin the second leg of our trip. Florence: the coat of arms of Via Panicale If you are around Florence and have some spare time, you should take a walk to the former Sant'Orsola convent, in via Pan- icale. Built in the early 14 th cen- tury as an appendix to the near- by San Lorenzo basilica, the convent w as home, betw een 1327 and 1435, to Benedictine nuns. Keep in mind, to under- stand our story better, that Saint Benedict of Norcia, patron of Europe and founder of western monasticism, is also the saint protector of exorcists and that the medal bearing his own effigy contains words part of an old exorcism rite, as witnessed by a 14 th century manus cript. Remember Benedict, then, but return with your thoughts to Flo- rence and the convent in Via Panicale. Just above the door thought to once have been its main entrance, you can still see a peculiar coat of arms: round, divided in two vertical sections, one Benedictine cross in each. Doubling a symbol, usually, means you want to make it twice as powerful, and the round shape of our coat of arms probably hints at the fact women lived in the building, the circle being a symbol of the feminine and pro- tection. In its upper part, the let- ter I and N are carved: they are above the whole effigy, as they serve for both sides of it. At the corners of the first cross, we read S-C-R-D, at those of the second C-O-I-A. Pretty mysterious, you think. Well, not so much. The letters together stand for a Latin sen- tence of unmistakable meaning: in nomine Sanctae Crucis rejec- ta daemonium, "in name of the Holy Cross reject Satan, and in nomine Crucis observationis induce amorem, which translates in "in name of respect to the Cross bring love." It is, quite simply, an invitation to renounce Evil and embrace G ood: an exorcism. Placing such a symbol at the entrance of a holy place is not as odd as it may seem, espe- cially when considering the his- torical period the convent was built. The early 14 th century corresponds to the time when the Templars were persecuted and eventually obliterated as an order by the Pope, who feared they had become devil worship- pers . A s there w ere many around, it's not that strange to believe religious people of those years were more afraid than usual to encounter the diabolical CHIARA ALESSI Secret Italy: a voyage through the mysterious and the unknown of the peninsula. Part One: the Centre influences around them, which explains the choice to protect a building and its community from them through a perpetual, stone etched exorcism. Fascinating, spiritual and historical, all at the same time, just as many other "mysteries" of Italy. The Castle of Carbognano and Giulia Farnese Giulia Farnese is a mysteri- ous character of Italian history: for centuries, it was believed no portrait of her existed, even if word was, among her contempo- raries, she was the fairest of women. This part of the mystery has however unravelled, as it appears she was, indeed, inspira- tion for more than one famous w ork of art, including Luca Longhi's Dama con l'Unicorno, Raffaello's Young Woman with a Unicorn and, very likely, one of P inturicchio's M adonne, recently exhibited in Rome's Musei Capitolini. In fact, that Pinturicchio of all artists knew how she looked like shouldn't surprise, considering his ties with the Borgia family and the fact Giulia, only a teenager, had become one of the many lovers of Pope Alexander VI. If the mystery surrounding her appearance wasn't enough to keep us all on our tip toes, even the place of her burial is unknown. And there is more, as the rooms of Palazzo Farnese in Carbognano demonstrate. Giulia had chosen it to spent the less turbulent years of her life and, as any respectful lady would do, she had the whole place done up when moving in. Among the additions, many beautiful fres- coes, some quirkier than others, symbols that still today leave art historians baffled. Giulia, as all her family in fact, liked uni- corns, a recurrent image in the Farnese family's iconography. H ow ever the actual reas ons behind the choice are unknown and up for s peculation. The phoenix is another iconic figure largely represented on the cas- tle's walls, universal symbol of Man's capacity to be reborn from his (or her) own ashes. And then, a woman, possibly Giulia herself, walking over a turtle and two large masks turn- ing into floral imagery which then becomes unicorns. An intri- cate trip through Renaissance s ymbolis m, w hich may w ell hide some more secrets about a woman who made of her own mystery the true essence of her eternal popularity. While travelling through the central regions of Italy, though, how could we not stop, even if just for a night, in Rome, the magnificent and eternal. Indeed, here, some mysteries await us, too. While strolling around, make sure to go to Piazza Vitto- rio and look for, surrounded by greenery, the Alchemic Door, also known as the Magic Door, or the Hermetic Door or, indeed, the Door of the Skies. Built between 1655 and 1680, it is the only remaining door of Villa Palombara, once grand residence of Massimiliano Savelli Palom- bara, Marquis of Pietraforte. Surrounded by alchemic sym- bols and guarded by two pecu- liarly looking statues, the door was believed to have allowed alchemist Francesco Giuseppe Borri to disappear into another dimension. The symbols etched all around the door, wanted by Palombara himself, are by some believed to be related to the mysterious Voynich Manuscript, a 15 th century codex written in a still undeciphered code. Now, if that's not mysterious, I truly don't know what could be. The double coat of arms. In its upper part, the letter I and N are carved: they are above the whole effigy, as they serve for both sides of it. At the corners of the first cross, we read S-C-R-D, at those of the second C-O-I-A LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

• Cover