Fiori dell'anima. La simbologia dei fiori nell'immaginario religioso

Abstract

Number 23 of Ocula is dedicated to the meanings of flowers and their relationship with sacred values. This issue is composed of three parts. The first, Symbolic Flora in the Ancient world, contains three papers related to symbols and meanings of flowers and plants in the Mesopotamian culture and in the Hebrew Bible. The second part is entitled Christian Botanic symbols and consists of three papers related to Christian symbolism, which is studied through different lenses (philosophical, historical and semiotic), focusing on different historical periods (Early Christianity, the Middle Ages and the 20th century). The third part, Diachronic developments of floral imagination, considers different approaches closely related to a semiotic, textual and literary analysis. The theme of litanies through the centuries of Christianity is treated in three of the five chapters included. The aim of this last group of papers is to underline the strong character of the diachronic development of flower symbolism.