GEOGRAFIE DEL SACRO: LA LETTERATURA MISTICA COME FONTE DI CONOSCENZA

Abstract

Geography of the sacred: mystical literature as a source of knowledge. – The paper addresses the question whether mystical visions can offer a contribution to the knowledge of territories with regard to historical geography. The attention is limited to Christian mysticism, on which a rich literature is available, accompanied by in-depth critical analysis.
In several cases the authors provide us with significant details about the environment that is the background to episodes of sacred history, that is the geography of the Holy Land at the beginning of the 1st century. Without discussing the theological problems, the paper investigates the writings from two mystics almost a century apart, the German Anne Catherine Emmerick, a blessed nun of the 19^th century and the Italian Maria Valtorta (died in 1961). These are examined in order to ascertain the validity of the geographical information contained therein and their originality with respect to the knowledge to their time.