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Goddess of Rapino (CH)

The card was edited by Giusi Di Crescenzo

Goddess of Rapino (CH)

By concession of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Regional Directorate of Abruzzo Museums

Goddess of Rapino (CH)

The card was edited by Giusi Di Crescenzo

Bronze statuette 11,60 cm high. It represents more of an offerer than a Goddess, in fact in one of her hands she holds a focaccia on which three ears of corn are engraved with a gesture of her arm outstretched as a sign of offering. She wears a floor-length dress and has her hair tied back. In some descriptions it is said that it is not a hairstyle but a headgear.

By concession of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Regional Directorate of Abruzzo Museums
The statuette (ph. AA.VV., 2010)
The Grotta del Colle (ph. E. Visciola, 2021)
The Grotta del Colle (ph. G. Di Crescenzo)

Historical notes

The statuette was found in 1932, during a clandestine excavation that took place in the Grotta del Colle. Archaeological investigations inside the cave have made it possible to ascertain that it was frequented from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages, demonstrating that this has been a sacred place since ancient times.

The statuette was initially identified with the Goddess Cernia and only later with a priestess or devotee in the act of offering.

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CARD

Name

Goddess of Rapino (CH)

Subject

Female figurine

Timeline

The dating of the statuette is highly controversial as the Grotta del Colle in which it was found has traces of attendance that date from the lower Paleolithic to the 1970th century. BC and beyond until the Hellenistic age, with numerous votive offerings that make the Grotto a place of worship. Giovanni Colonna, in his "Umbro-Sabellic votive bronzes in human figure" (Florence 480) dates the statuette to the sixth century. BC in the wake of stylistic considerations, probably due to the style of clothing, while the authors Vincenzo Orfanelli and Paola Riccitelli in "The places of the gods" date it between the end of the sixth century. BC and the severe style (450-XNUMX BC); finally, Maria Josè Strazzulla proposes a later dating, III century. BC, chronology not very distant from that of the Tabula Rapinensis found in the same cave

Location of discovery

Found in the Grotta del Colle a few kilometers away from Rapino - Province of Chieti

Region

Abruzzo

Environmental context

Caves

exhibits exhibited

The find is exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum "la Civitella" in Chieti, Via Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell 1, tel. 0871-63137

State of conservation

Discount

Dimensions:

11.6 cm height.

Legal condition

State property

External Link

For National Archaeological Museum "la Civitella"

External Link

For more information:
The Goddess of Rapino and the Grotta del Colle (CH)

REFERENCES

  1. AA.VV. – SOS  Art from Abruzzo: an exhibition not to be forgotten – Gangemi publisher – Rome 2010;
  2. Emanuela Ceccaroni, Amalia Faustoferri and Andrea Pessina – “Valerio Cianfarani and Middle Adriatic cultures” – in Proceedings of the Chieti-Teramo Conference – 27/29 June 2008.

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