Papers by Antonello Catani
Dalla Domus aeterna al Museo
In two previous articles by the author attention had been devoted to the rise of archaeology in m... more In two previous articles by the author attention had been devoted to the rise of archaeology in modern times and to the parallel decline of the fear of the dead. Museums have thus become the recipients of archaeological findings in particular. While the official explanation of the museums’ role is that they promote education and cultural awareness, many factors suggest that their nature and function are much more complex, ambiguous and hidden.
Their rise and evolution into public institutions does in fact coincide with several other factors such as the rise of archaeology, the emergence of parliamentary democracy, the rise of nationalism and of mass society. Contrary to the ancient world, which did not establish museums nor felt their necessity, the modern civilization seems to need them in an apparent effort to preserve the Past even at the cost of the institutionalized and legalized grave violations of archaeology.
This is why even tombs are being continuously excavated and their findings and human remains are relocated in museums. However, nothing of what is contained in the latter’s collections has anything to do with modern practices and values nor with daily customs and behaviors. Thus, very little distinguishes such items from fetishes and relics. The funerary caracter of many of such items and the usually closed dimension and atmosphere of the museums suggest that the real function of the museums is that of a collective mass grave ,although without the ancient related rites and expectations of an afterlife.
Letteratura & Società, no. 72, pp. 51-106., 2022
The present essay is the logical continuation of a previous exploration (The double soul of... more The present essay is the logical continuation of a previous exploration (The double soul of archaeology) devoted to the emergence of archaeology in modern times and to its ambivalent fascination-indifference vis à vis the Dead and the Past. In this new chapter the attention is focused on the progressive fading of the immemorial fear of the Dead, which human societies believed could come back to visit and harass the Living. In the last centuries this fear has greatly diminished if not altogether vanished. What could apparently be interpreted as the fading of a superstition has however subtler and broader implications. In fact, rather than being just the disappearance of a primitive notion, such psychological change corresponds to a tacit although not confessed loss of the faith in another (invisible) world, something which is still officially postulated by religions such as Christianity and Islàm.
This new chapter tries to explore the phases and forms of the change and the inherent contradictions it embodies.
LETTERATURA @ SOCIETA', 2022
Apparently, the scope and nature of archaeology would seem to be obvious and innocent. Behin... more Apparently, the scope and nature of archaeology would seem to be obvious and innocent. Behind the conventional scenario of a digging activity in the name of science and the love for antiquity, one may in fact discover many ambiguous sides and unpredictable implications. The lack of scruples in opening tombs signals for instance the decline in the ancient faith in the resurrection of the bodies and also of the fear of the dead. Since archaeology was born in Europe in the last centuries, this raises the question as to why older but very sophisticated civilizations did not feel the same need to dig tombs and monuments. Also, its appearance seems to coincide with the emergence of nationalism in the XIX century. Having become a trophy of nationalistic prides, the discoveries of the archaeology have also become a tool of national identities and prides and of commercial exploitation (tourism).
Even these few elements show that, without underrating its achievements in the knowledge of the past, archaeology is the dissimulated and ambiguous complement of epochal changes of values which took place in modern civilization.
Letteratura & Società, 68, 2021, pp. 46-81, 2021
Charm and evil eye may seem curious and innocent beliefs, present in popular folklore and in poet... more Charm and evil eye may seem curious and innocent beliefs, present in popular folklore and in poetry but lacking any deeper and broader religious or mental background. At first glance, they would also seem different and with an antithetical nature. However, at a more accurate observation, they reveal a substantial identity of functions together with a strong connections with magics and immemorial religious ideas. However, a further digging suggests an even more subtle and ancient scenario. The hypothesis of these pages is that they are in reality the symbolic transformation of very primitive and physical clashes of defence and offence.
Letteratura & Società, no. 62, pp. 76-98., 2019
For centuries the sadic and enigmatic personality of Gilles de Rais, once friend of Jeanne d'Arc,... more For centuries the sadic and enigmatic personality of Gilles de Rais, once friend of Jeanne d'Arc, has haunted the imagination. For some his reputed crimes are a mystification of the truth, and for others he is one of the most atrocious sadist criminals of all times. While the present essay gives credibility to the second scenario, its aim is to shed some light on the strange benevolence shown by the Church authorities in occasion of his trial, which led to his hanging but not to his burning and dispersion of his ashes, as it was customary in those days for similar crimes .
Letteratura @ Società, no. 60, pp.3-51. , 2018
The traditional interpretation of Kavafis considers his moral-stoic poems as the most representat... more The traditional interpretation of Kavafis considers his moral-stoic poems as the most representative element of his work. Moreover,because of the language, he is usually included in the manuals of modern greek literature without any specific warnings and distinctions.
The present essay tries to show that the real focus of the poet's work is the desperation of the body and of its lost pleasures and beauty, the antiquarian and stoic elements being rather the figurative transfer of such notion. Furthermore, under many points of view, his psychological and mental background scarcely coincides with the typical models of moDern greek culture.
"La trama nascosta è più forte di quella manifesta."
Magnin Literaire, Sep 2008
Some considerations about the representation of reality in art and literature and its differences... more Some considerations about the representation of reality in art and literature and its differences and implications.
Magnin Literaire, Sep 9, 2011
An analysis of the psychological and aesthetic elements of the iconography of San Sebastian throu... more An analysis of the psychological and aesthetic elements of the iconography of San Sebastian throughout the centuries.
The essay is a sequel to another essay (Rappresentazioni proibite) by the same author. The attitu... more The essay is a sequel to another essay (Rappresentazioni proibite) by the same author. The attitudes shown by western society towards the subject of love and passion, as reflected in a myriad of literary works and myths, betray the existence of an immemorial conflict between attraction and repulsion. Thus, the association of love and death present in so many stories and myths suggests an identification of passion and sex with a destructive impulse, which is therefore regularly chastised and strictly regulated, if not definitively condemned. Many elements, adopted by radical psycoanalists as Ferenczi, would suggest that the real motives for which society has traditionally nourished suspicions and fears towards the unchained forms of passion and sex lie in their being a kind of a masked egoistic and anarchic regression to death, rather than an impulse primarily aimed to bring new life.
The essay aims at exploring the lack of erotic realism both in western painting and literature. F... more The essay aims at exploring the lack of erotic realism both in western painting and literature. Furthermore, it explores the connections shown by western literature between passion and death. Uncontrolled love brings disasters. This is why so many stories of furious and wild love end with the death of one or both the protagonists, whereas stories of milder and socially acceptable loves usually have a happy ending. The resulting notion is that artists, consciously or unconsciously, transmit and reinforce in this way immemorial and tacit social fears related to wild love.
San Giorgio e il drago. Letteratura & Società, 2105, 50, pp.51-98.
The enigmatic figure of Saint George embodies different and contrasting personalities, the most a... more The enigmatic figure of Saint George embodies different and contrasting personalities, the most ancient of which is however that of a very ancient mounted hero who struggles with a dragon. In the course of time, this last aspect has progressively prevailed over the saint's mystic character. The saint's iconographic history witnesses such changes and also the deep differences of perception between western and eastern culture vis-à-vis the dragon and its role.
Letteratura @ Società no.48, pp.51-75, Sep 2014
This essay tries to show that many historical events have been determined or influenced by simple... more This essay tries to show that many historical events have been determined or influenced by simple stupidity
because things evidently false are not onely printed, but many things of truth most falsely set f... more because things evidently false are not onely printed, but many things of truth most falsely set forth... Thomas Browne, Religio medici.
Poche cose sono più affascinanti delle analogie e delle imprevedibili associazioni fra usi e cost... more Poche cose sono più affascinanti delle analogie e delle imprevedibili associazioni fra usi e costumi apparentemente estranei.
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Papers by Antonello Catani
Their rise and evolution into public institutions does in fact coincide with several other factors such as the rise of archaeology, the emergence of parliamentary democracy, the rise of nationalism and of mass society. Contrary to the ancient world, which did not establish museums nor felt their necessity, the modern civilization seems to need them in an apparent effort to preserve the Past even at the cost of the institutionalized and legalized grave violations of archaeology.
This is why even tombs are being continuously excavated and their findings and human remains are relocated in museums. However, nothing of what is contained in the latter’s collections has anything to do with modern practices and values nor with daily customs and behaviors. Thus, very little distinguishes such items from fetishes and relics. The funerary caracter of many of such items and the usually closed dimension and atmosphere of the museums suggest that the real function of the museums is that of a collective mass grave ,although without the ancient related rites and expectations of an afterlife.
This new chapter tries to explore the phases and forms of the change and the inherent contradictions it embodies.
Even these few elements show that, without underrating its achievements in the knowledge of the past, archaeology is the dissimulated and ambiguous complement of epochal changes of values which took place in modern civilization.
The present essay tries to show that the real focus of the poet's work is the desperation of the body and of its lost pleasures and beauty, the antiquarian and stoic elements being rather the figurative transfer of such notion. Furthermore, under many points of view, his psychological and mental background scarcely coincides with the typical models of moDern greek culture.
Their rise and evolution into public institutions does in fact coincide with several other factors such as the rise of archaeology, the emergence of parliamentary democracy, the rise of nationalism and of mass society. Contrary to the ancient world, which did not establish museums nor felt their necessity, the modern civilization seems to need them in an apparent effort to preserve the Past even at the cost of the institutionalized and legalized grave violations of archaeology.
This is why even tombs are being continuously excavated and their findings and human remains are relocated in museums. However, nothing of what is contained in the latter’s collections has anything to do with modern practices and values nor with daily customs and behaviors. Thus, very little distinguishes such items from fetishes and relics. The funerary caracter of many of such items and the usually closed dimension and atmosphere of the museums suggest that the real function of the museums is that of a collective mass grave ,although without the ancient related rites and expectations of an afterlife.
This new chapter tries to explore the phases and forms of the change and the inherent contradictions it embodies.
Even these few elements show that, without underrating its achievements in the knowledge of the past, archaeology is the dissimulated and ambiguous complement of epochal changes of values which took place in modern civilization.
The present essay tries to show that the real focus of the poet's work is the desperation of the body and of its lost pleasures and beauty, the antiquarian and stoic elements being rather the figurative transfer of such notion. Furthermore, under many points of view, his psychological and mental background scarcely coincides with the typical models of moDern greek culture.