Alberi e boschi sacri del Lazio antico: letteratura e immagini

According to Pliny the Elder at the beginning of book 12 the trees were originally temples of the numina while, even now, according to an ancient rite, simple country people consecrate a more beautiful tree to the god; indeed, according to a moralistic perspective, gold and ivory simulacra do not arouse more veneration than luci; the reasoning follows on certain kinds of trees protected as they are dedicated to numina, such as the oak to Jupiter, the laurel to Apollo and so on. The intervention will analyze some passages of Latin literature dedicated to the sacred groves (Virgil, Ovid, Lucan) searching for parallels or identifying the differences with the most distinctive components of the category of so-called idyllic-sacral paintings. In similar images, sacred trees are often found at the center of the composition, in association with architectural structures of various types. The second part of the article will be dedicated precisely to the latter and to their actual correspondence or not to constructions known from archaeological evidence.