Rituals, symbols and beliefs across space and time:

Saturday 6 April a day of studies dedicated to funeral rites at the Tadini Academy in Lovere (BG)

In conjunction with the exhibition “Lovere romana. Dal tesoro alla necropoli”, currently taking place at Tadini’s Atelier until 2 June, which is characterized by the exhibition of some significant finds brought to light thanks to the excavation of the necropolis discovered in Valvendra, the Hall of Frescoes of the Tadini Academy of Lovere will host the event entitled “E dell’oscura morte al passo andare” on Saturday 6 April 2024 at 09:30: a day of studies organized by the PAD Network – Widespread Archaeological Landscapes, in collaboration with the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, and dedicated to rituals, symbols and beliefs linked to customs in the funerary field and to the theme of death and mourning in ancient societies but also in modern and contemporary society. The meeting, with free admission, is open to all.

The theme of the conference will be analysed, starting from the territory, through a diachronic perspective and intersecting various points of view: archaeological, historical-artistic and historical-social. In their speeches, the speakers will illustrate how ancient peoples dealt with the loss of their loved ones and with which funeral ceremonies accompanied their burial, how funeral rites have evolved over time, how the passage into the afterlife has been represented in art and what the cemetery epitaphs tell us.

During the morning, four meetings are scheduled dedicated to the perception of death in the Copper Age in the Pre-Alps, in the Iron Age in the Golasecca culture and in the Roman age, with a specific look at infant burials and the finds found in tombs of Mologno (Casazza, BG). At the end of the session it will be possible to visit the exhibition “Lovere Romana. From the treasure to the necropolis”.

After the lunch break, with a buffet offered to the participants set up by the Olivelli Putelli Institute of Darfo Boario Terme, the work will resume with another four interventions dedicated, respectively, to church burials in the Early Middle Ages and in the Ancient Regime, to the iconography of the macabre dance in the Bergamo area, to funeral epitaphs and the sense of mourning from the nineteenth century to the present day. The day will conclude with a round table in which the topic will be addressed from an anthropological perspective.

As mentioned, the study day is an initiative promoted by the PAD Network – Widespread Archaeological Landscapes, which promotes knowledge paths accessible to all, to discover the Bergamo area between the Val Cavallina and the Lake Iseo, along roads that lead to the Val Borlezza, the Val Seriana and the Valle Camonica. The Network includes, in addition to the Tadini Academy of Lovere – the lead body, the Municipality of Casazza for the Cavellas archaeological area, the Municipality of Lovere for the Castelliere and the Roman necropolis, the Municipality of Parre for Parra-Oppidum degli Orobi, the Municipality of Predore for the thermal plant of the Roman villa and the Municipality of Sovere for the Fossil Lakes Park and the archaeological area of the Madonna della Torre.