Legends of the Sibilline Mountains [Paperback]

Giuseppe Santarelli (Author), translated by Phoebe Leed and Nathan Neel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2006

Legends of the Sibilline Mountains is a small book about an obscure corner of Italy and an equally obscure backwater of world literature. And yet the subjects it touches upon--amongst them, the roots of literature in popular consciousness, the intimations of Christian existentialism, the absorption of pagan traditions into Christianity--reach far and wide. Goddess worship, necromantic rites, the death of Pontius Pilate, Benevenuto Cellini, Goethe's "Faust" Wagner's "Tannhauser"...they all connect here in a real place of strange geological formations and magical beauty. The Sibilline Mountains, dividing Le Marche from Umbria, were "celebrated in the 14th and 15th centuries throughout all Europe for magical fairytales and necromantic initiations," according to the author Giuseppe Santarelli. In the most famous of these tales a mysterious Sibyl inhabits a grotto devoted to the pleasures of the flesh, luring knights to eternal damnation. Another legend concerns the Lago di Pilato, a mountaintop lake where Pontius Pilate's body had been cast, that later became a destination for demonic rituals. In a witty and personal tone Santarelli discusses the origins of the myths in folklore, their literary transformations through the centuries, and the archeological traces they left behind. This is the first English translation

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Giuseppe Santarelli was born in 1936 in Monte Giberto, a hill town of the Marches, Italy. He graduated from the Catholic University of Milan where for a decade (1967-1976) he taught Italian literature and language. He is the author of various esteemed essays on literature, history and art. Since 1982 he has been director of the Universal Congregation of the Holy House of Loreto and "Il Messaggio della Santa Casa/The Message of the Holy House."

Product Details

• Paperback: 137 pages
• Publisher: STAF edizioni (April 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8888532072
• ISBN-13: 978-8888532073
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,363,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must read, March 28, 2010

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ksl (MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legends of the Sibilline Mountains (Paperback)

This is really a must read. There is nothing else like this around. Great book for Italy lovers, musicians, and those interested in the strife between the Church and ancient religions. Seldom does a region come to life like this.