Gerusalemme - “ombelico del mondo” nella tradizione cristiana antica

The Holy City of Jerusalem inspired a series of exegetical and theological speculations by the Rabbis and the early Christian community. Jerusalem is considered the “navel of the earth” in connection with the “foundation stone” of the entire universe. It was the point where God began the creation. For Christianity the place of Golgotha (Calvary) is the middle of the earth because “God... worked salvation in the midst of the earth” (Ps 73[74]:12). Alternatively, the Sepulcher of the Lord is in the middle of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. To the place of Anastasis (Resurrection) were transferred all of the prerogatives of the ancient Jewish Temple. It became the center of the world. In Christianity the Holy City never lost its real signification. This is confirmed by the phenomenon of pilgrimage. In the various ancient representations the Holy Land was treated as a very special, even unique, geographical-historical object. The Madaba Mosaic is one of the most important and reliable sources for the reconstruction of the landscape of Palestine in the Byzantine period. From the beginning of the Crusades up to the 16th century, Jerusalem was placed at the very center of all world maps (mappamundi). The idea of the “navel of the world” was translated into the architectonic and liturgical symbolism in the churches.