Italia turrita
Italia turrita (pronounced
Italia turrita, which is one of the
Appearance and representation
The personification of Italy is generally depicted as a woman with a rather luxuriant body, with typical Mediterranean attributes, such as colored complexion and dark hair.
After the birth of the
However, the classic representation of Italia turrita, originated from a coin minted under the
The classical aspect of Italia turrita, which originates from the primordial myth of the Great Mediterranean Mother, symbolically transmits, according to the presence or absence of some attributes, the royalty and nobility of Italian cities (thanks to the turreted crown), the abundance of the agricultural crops of the Italian peninsula (represented by the cornucopia), the natural wealth of the Italian peninsula (symbolized by the rich mantle), the domination of Italy over the world (symbolized by the globe, which is the allegory of the two periods during which the Italian peninsula was at the center of history: the Roman era and the Rome of the popes), domination over other nations (represented by the scepter) and Italy's shining destiny (thanks to the presence of the Italian Star).[11][12]
Places of representation
Italia turrita has been depicted throughout history in many national contexts: stamps, honors, coins, monuments, on the passport and, more recently, on the back of the Italian identity card.[13]
The allegory of Italy is also present in the scrolls of numerous ancient maps.[14] On maps she appeared for the first time in 1595 on a map contained in the Parergon, a geographical work by Giacomo Gastaldi; then on a work by Willem Blaeu published in 1635, with the wall crown surmounted by a luminous six-pointed star.[15][16] Among the most striking images of the personification of the Italian peninsula is that shown in the general map of Italy by Jean-Dominique Cassini, which was published in 1793.[17]
History
In ancient Rome
Ancient sources mention the existence of a picta Italia ("painted Italy") at the Temple of Tellus in ancient Rome, dating back to 268 BC; this painting has not survived, it could have been either a map or an allegorical personification of Italy.[18][19][20][21]
The origin of the turreted woman is linked to the figure of Cybele, a deity of fertility of Anatolian origin, in whose representations she wears a wall crown.[22] During the Second Punic War (218 BC - 202 BC), while Hannibal was raging in Italy, the Roman priests predicted that Rome would be saved only if the image of Cybele, that is of the goddess of Mount Ida, had arrived in the surroundings of Troy.[23] The image, a black stone preserved in Pessinus, was transported to Rome and placed inside the Temple of Victory.[24] The Roman army then defeated Hannibal and the city was saved.
Since then Cybele became one of the deities of Rome, the
Also thanks to the events of the
During the Roman Empire, the women of the imperial family began to dress, in official depictions, as Cybele, that is, with a turreted crown.[26] This image merged with the allegorical personification of the peninsula, increasingly becoming the symbol of Italy.
The representation of Italia turrita was introduced by emperor Trajan, who had it sculpted on the his Arch erected in Benevento in 114–117. Afterwards, from 130 AD on, under the emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus and Caracalla, Roman coins reproduced the allegorical representation of Italy as a dressed and towered woman who sometimes carries a cornucopia. During the reign of Antoninus Pius a sestertius was coined representing Italy as a turreted woman, sitting on a globe and holding a cornucopia in one hand while in the other the command stick.[10]
The towered crown is the symbol of Civitas romana, therefore the allegory shows the sovereignty of the Italian peninsula as the homeland of Roman citizens, becoming the classic image of the allegorical personification of Italy.[10]
From the Middle Ages to 18th century
In the centuries following the
Italia turrita was rediscovered at the beginning of the 14th century, shortly after the
The representation continued to be nostalgic of past glories even during the
The first to resume a figure of Italia turrita more similar to that of the ancient age was
[...] A beautiful woman dressed in a sumptuous dress, and rich with a mantle on top, and sitting on a globe, has crowned the head of towers, and walls, with the right hand she holds a scepter, or an auction, which with the one, and with the other, is shown in the aforementioned Medals, and with the left hand a cornucopia full of different fruits, and beyond that we will do again, having a beautiful star above the head [...][a]
— Cesare Ripa, Iconologia, 1603
From the unification of Italy to republican Italy
Italia turrita recovered the solemn aura in the 19th century, becoming one of the symbols of the
It is from this period that most of the marble statues representing Italia turrita were built; the erection of monuments to the allegorical personification of the country continued even after the three wars of independence.[33]
When unity of Italy was completed, the iconography of the Italia turrita was overcome by the myth of the history of ancient Rome; it is not in fact a case that in the group of statues present at the
This tendency to relegate Italia turrita to a supporting role, which began in 1870 with the
In these decades the allegorical representation of Italy was not particularly widespread in the official architecture, with the placement of statues inside the most important buildings,
The iconography of the allegorical personification of Italy was resumed in the second post-war period: in 1946 the supporters of the republic chose the effigy of the Italia turrita as their unitary symbol to be used in the electoral campaign and on the referendum card on the institutional form of the State, in contrast to the Savoy coat of arms, which represented the monarchy.[37][38]
After the proclamation of the Republic, which saw Italia turrita as the protagonist, the iconography of the allegorical representation of the country returned to sporadic appearances; appeared on stamps (including the series called "Siracusana"), coins, stamp duty and cartoons.[39]
Stella d'Italia
Over the head of Italia turrita, a five-pointed star is usually seen shining radiant; an ancient secular symbol of Italy purported to protect the nation, known as Stella d'Italia ("Star of Italy"). Iconographic of the
Cornucopia
Prior to the conceptualization of Italia turrita, Roman Italy was often personified as a woman holding a cornucopia, symbol of wealth and abundance. Such symbolism continued and several coins depicted Italia turrita, seated on a globe, holding a sceptre and a cornucopia.
Gallery
-
Italia turrita e stellata (1861) in Naples
-
Italia turrita in Venice
-
Italia turrita in Milan
-
Italia turrita in Brescia
-
Italia turrita in Cosenza
-
Italia und Germania (1828) by Johann Friedrich Overbeck
-
Cenotaph of Dante Alighieri (Italia turrita on the left) in Florence
-
Italia turrita places thePalazzo di Brera.
-
Allegory of Venice (lion) hoping to join Italy (woman) (1861) by Andrea Appiani the Younger
-
Mourning Italia turrita on the Tomb to CountBasilica di Santa Croce, Florence
-
Caricature of the Post-Risorgimento: Italia turrita at the centre points out to Enrico Cialdini (on the right) all her enemies around Napoleon III (turned into a tree): from the left, Pope Pius IX, Bourbons, clergy, and brigands. In the background, Giuseppe Garibaldi plows up his land in Caprera.
-
A stamp from the Italian Social Republic, depicting Italia turrita holding a Fasces
See also
Part of a series on the |
Culture of Italy |
---|
People |
Traditions |
Notes
- ^ [...] Una bellissima donna vestita d'Habito sontuoso, e ricco con un manto sopra, e siede sopra un globo, ha coronata la testa di torri, e di muraglie, con la destra mano tiene uno scettro, overo un'hasta, che con l'uno, e con l'altra vien dimostrata nelle sopra dette Medaglie, e con la sinistra mano un cornucopia pieno di diversi frutti, e oltre ciò faremo anco, che habbia sopra la testa una bellissima stella. [...][31]
Citations
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 103.
- ^ "Iconologia Italia" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "L'immagine dell'Italia, eredità antica - Dall'avventura coloniale al primo dopoguerra (sezione III, parte V)" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ a b Bazzano 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 133.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 158.
- ^ "I simboli della Repubblica – L'emblema" (in Italian).
- ^ Rossi 2014, p. 38.
- ^ a b Bazzano 2011, p. 11.
- ^ a b c Bazzano 2011, p. 178.
- ^ a b c Bazzano 2011, p. 7.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, pp. 102–103.
- ISBN 9788838772498. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 92.
- ^ "Italia Turrita - Figure Personifies the Italian Nation". Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "L'Italia antica di Jan Moretus del 1601. Genesi e sviluppo tra cartografia, storia, arte e potere persuasivo delle immagini" (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-88-8068-495-4.
- ^ Rivista storica italiana - Volume 99
- ^ Eutopia - Volume 5
- ^ Storia della storiografia romana, Giuseppe Zecchini, 2016, Laterza
- ^ Italia picta
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 24.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, pp. 24–25.
- ^ a b Bazzano 2011, p. 25.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, pp. 28–29.
- ^ a b Bazzano 2011, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Bazzano 2011, p. 37.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 43.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, pp. 63 e 65.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, pp. 89–101.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 101.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 161.
- ^ a b "L'immagine dell'Italia, eredità antica - Dall'Unità d'Italia ai primi anni del Novecento (sezione III, parte IV)" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 163.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 164.
- ^ a b Bazzano 2011, p. 165.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 172.
- ^ "Ma chi è il volto della Repubblica Italiana?" (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Bazzano 2011, p. 173.
References
- Bazzano, Nicoletta (2011). Donna Italia. L'allegoria della Penisola dall'antichità ai giorni nostri (in Italian). Angelo Colla Editore. ISBN 978-88-96817-06-3.
- Giovanni Lista, La Stella d'Italia, Edizioni Mudima, Milan, 2011.
- Rossi, Girolamo (2014). Lo scudo crociato. Un simbolo medievale nella comunicazione politica del Novecento (in Italian). Armando Editore. ISBN 978-88-96817-06-3.
External links
- The front page of that day's general election