Rinascite e rinnovamenti: esempi altomedievali di riuso del classico nella penisola italiana

The question of early medieval renaissance (Justinian, Liutprandean, Carolingian, Ottonian) is based on the possibility of defining any phenomenon of return, even indirect and coherent, to ancient culture as a renaissance. A return to ancient art does not necessarily imply a recovery of the idealized naturalism associated with classical culture. The affirmation of Christianity not only did not erase the forms of pagan art but brought about a regeneration of classical art, that is to say a rebirth intended to create a Christian equivalent to the pagan tradition. An important result of this phenomenon was that the successive returns to the paleo-Christian roots often determined a renaissance without however the necessary implications linked to a conscious re-appropriation of the forms of pagan art. Classical art continued to be considered a reservoir both of materials to be physically appropriated and of models to be re-proposed in new artifacts.