The Sanctuary of Minerva is a temple of the Roman era, situated at Breno, in locality ''Spinera''. It rises to a rocky outcrop on the banks of the river

Oglio The Oglio (; or ; , ) is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its of length, it occupies the 2nd place per length (after the river Adda), while it is the 4th pe ...

, faced with a natural cave within which flowed a spring.

History

The site was already a place of worship since the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

and had a shrine (which were found a few yards of stone and a brandopferplatz) that is a paved area that housed the burning rituals. Following the Romanization of the camunian territory, on the former sanctuary was built, in the early first century, a Roman temple dedicated to the goddess

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

. The Roman final structure, built next to the indigenous, consisted of a row of rooms assigned to the rock and the sides by two wings that porticoed heading for the river delimiting the courtyard of the temple. The main hall housed in an elevated niche, the statue of Minerva, Roman copy of a Greek statue of the fifth century BC In the fourth century started the process of

Christianization Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

of Valle Camonica that imposed the end of the cult of Minerva during the

persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church ...

. Into the fifth century the sanctuary was destroyed by a violent fire, and the statue of Minerva was beheaded with force. Later, during the thirteenth century, a flood of the

river covered the area in debris and the site was finally abandoned.

Discovery

The existence of the temple was largely forgotten with time following the

of Valcamonica, although some collective memory of the temple survived among locals, with a nearby bridge being referred to as ''ponte di Minerva'' (the bridge of Minerva) and a nearby church, although dedicated to

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, being colloquially referred to by locals as "The Church of Minerva." However, the temple's existence and the roots of the local nicknames for the nearby bridge and church were officially forgotten. The temple was rediscovered by chance in 1986 during an excavation for the laying of pipes. Starting in 2004, it was the subject of a restoration which, together with the laying of coverage and implementation of information pathways, have turned into a museum that was opened to the public on 29 September 2007. In particular, for illustrative purposes, there was placed a copy of the statue of Minerva Hygeia, whose original is exhibited at the National Museum of Valcamonica of Cividate Camuno.

Gallery

File:Santuario_di_Minerva_-_statua_nell'aula_centrale_-_Spinera_di_Breno_(Foto_Luca_Giarelli).jpg, The main hall of the temple File:Statua_di_Minerva_-_Museo_Nazionale_di_Valle_Camonica_-_Cividate_Camuno_(Foto_Luca_Giarelli).jpg, The statue of Minerva Hygeia, preserved in the National Museum of Valcamonica of Cividate Camuno File:Sacello laterale della chiesa di S. Maria al Ponte - Breno (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg, The church called "of Minerva", south of Breno, probably takes its name from the proximity to the temple

References

External links

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The archeological park of the Sanctuary of Minerva - Itinera
{{authority control Museums in Lombardy Museums of ancient Rome in Italy Archaeological museums in Italy Religious buildings and structures in Italy Temples of Minerva Destroyed temples Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Destroyed Roman temples

History

Discovery

Gallery

See also

References

External links