"San Gennaro is the true God of Naples", wrote Alexandre Dumas. He wasn't overinflating: this ancient martyr is the absolute lord of Neapolitan devotion, and his acrobatic liquefaction of blood is the most famous miracle in the world. Southern European catholic countries, and Italy in particular, have a special relationship with religion and sacred rites - a cult that may appear freakish and absurd to the eyes of large northern cities such as Paris or London.
It is crucial to remember, however, that all Catholic rituals were borrowed from the pivotal rites of the Roman Empire - ancestral rites that have their roots in the mists of time and have dominated the social order and the life of many civilizations, even those that now seem to have disengaged from these folk habits.
With great evocative effectiveness, the author retraces these stories that have endured through the centuries to us, capturing in depth the power of myths and rituals that have always invested the traditions of peoples.
It is crucial to remember, however, that all Catholic rituals were borrowed from the pivotal rites of the Roman Empire - ancestral rites that have their roots in the mists of time and have dominated the social order and the life of many civilizations, even those that now seem to have disengaged from these folk habits.
With great evocative effectiveness, the author retraces these stories that have endured through the centuries to us, capturing in depth the power of myths and rituals that have always invested the traditions of peoples.
Biografia dell'autore
Marino Niola is Full Professor of Anthropology of symbols at the University of Naples. He is a columnist for La Repubblica, and contributes to the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur (L'Obs).
