habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

R. Capraracentral gallery and the qibla wall, while the Mosque Sperlingareminds the Ibadi Berber Mosques.Islam spread in Turkey with the Seljuk invasion in 1081. Therupestrian Mosques of Çavusin, Zelve, Urgup in Cappadociaare characterized by the small Seljuk minarets.There is a rupestrian Mosque in the Armenian region of theVan Lake.The Arab culture is iconoclast, and this had influences on theByzantine Empire (the iconoclasm from 730 to 843). This isshown in the aniconic decoration of many rupestrian churchesin Cappadocia and Puglia.Roads of pilgrimsThe pilgrimage is a defined path, a period which is subtractedto ordinary life in order to create a connection with the sacredexperience. The word “pilgrim” comes from the Latin termperegrinus, which is constituted by per + ager (through thefields); it marked somebody who did not live in the town, astranger with reduced civilized conditions. Later, the meaningof the word included the choice of becoming stranger. Thepilgrim undertook the interior and material difficulties in orderto gain spiritual advantages. He offered (and still offers)risks and sacrifices to a far sacred experience, to gain metaphysicalsalvation and forgiveness through the adventures onthe way.All of the great historic religions give indications, forms, destinationsand finalizations for the pilgrimage. The Christianworld had two different form of pilgrimage, which were laterjoined in one single form: the devotional pilgrimage and thepenitential pilgrimage. The devotional pilgrimage exists sincethe Early Christian Age, as it was part of the conversion processto Christianity. The pilgrim had to leave for Jerusalem toget rid of the anxieties and the tensions of the world; he had tolive there as an exiled stranger (as the etymology of the wordtells), maybe for the rest of his life. Saint Helen, mother ofConstantine the Great, is a typical example of the IV centurydevotional pilgrimage. The penitential (or expiatory) pilgrimagehas later origin: it is bound to insular Anglo-Saxon andIrish traditions of the Early Middle Age. The missionariesbrought it in the European continent in the 6 th and 7 th century.Originally, it was a harsh sentence for a great guilt of ecclesiasts(such as murder or incest), as they were not under the layjurisdiction. They were condemned to a continuous wanderingin unknown and dangerous lands; they lived in povertyand were reduced to begging, with no chance to settle somewhere:they had live as Cain after Abele’s murder (Genesis, 4,12-14). The signs of their sins had to be evident: they were halfnaked, with chains at their wrists and their ankles. In manyEarly Medieval hagiographic texts, the chains were suddenlybroken, as a miracle: this signed the God’s decision of the endof the punishment.The early information about penitential pilgrimages to specificdestinations is from the 8 th century. Pilgrims wore alsonot infamous signs, such as the pilgrim’s staff, the cloak, theleather knapsack for money and food; he also wore on theheaddress or on the mantle the signs of the sanctuary wherehe was going of from where he was coming back. Rome wasthe goal of both penitential and devotional pilgrimages, due tothe presence of the tombs and the holy relics of the ApostlesPeter and Paul. During the middle Ages, the two forms of pilgrimagemingled and overlapped: every pilgrim was trying toexpiate something.During the 9 th century, the powerful Cluny Abbey promotedpilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, where James theApostle was buried. The stream of pilgrims could also supportthe Reconquista of Spain, which was under the Muslimsat that time. Jerusalem was under the Muslims since the 7 thcentury, in a debated territory between the Fatimid Caliphateof Cairo and the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. The Christianpilgrims could visit the town and the churches only paying forthe pass.Due to the general unsafeness and some diffidence by theChurch, pilgrimages were rare until the 9 th century: they werecontrolled by the Dioceses, which were territorial structures,and Order of Monks did not appreciated them, as they preferredthe stabilitas loci, a precept which prevented monksfrom changing Monastery. They also stated that “Jerusalem”was to be found in the heart of every Christian, and notthrough a journey. After, the Church acknowledged the pilgrimageas a fundamental experience of a religious life, so itprovided for an apposite vow and for relative spiritual indulgencies.After the 11 th century, pilgrimages were the enginefor a new mobility, and they supported the rise of commerce.Pilgrimage routes were supplied with hospitalia (hospices)where pilgrims could rest or be cured.The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam: it is the obligatoryritual pilgrimage to Mecca, to be carried out at least once ina lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to doFig. 3 Panoramic view of ‘Rione Casale’, Ginosa (TA).33volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 33 16/11/2012 15:00:52