Top of the World
Walking through the historical centre of Rivodutri, the visitor will not go unnoticed by a solitary arch adorned with strange sculptures and inscriptions, which stands in front of a small garden, completely unrelated to the surrounding buildings. This is the so-called "Porta Alchemica" (Alchemical Gate), placed here in recent times. The arch is one of the few artistic elements of Rivodutri that survived the terrible earthquake of December 31, 1948, which devastated the village causing the collapse of the old houses, including the building on which the unique portal was set. Its origins and the reasons for its construction are still mysterious. It is known that the palace where the arch was located belonged to the local Camiciotti family. Its exponents were, for some generations, at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, devoted to esotericism and the practice of occult sciences. Also known as the "Porta Santa" (Holy Door), the arch presents symbols linked to the world of alchemy, and closely resembles the much more famous "Porta Magica" (Magic Door) in Piazza Vittorio in Rome. As for the latter, it has not yet been possible to trace its author, who must however be inserted into the context of the great diffusion of the magical arts in the 17th century. It is equally difficult, of course, to attempt to give an interpretation to the symbolism engraved on the Holy Door. On the whole, however, it seems to express a philosophical and anti-materialist concept of alchemy. The process of "transmutation" involves not so much metals as the spiritual qualities of Man. The reliefs depicted on the jambs and lintel (which, according to some, should be read from bottom to top) would therefore trace the stages of an individual esoteric path. In essence, it would be a gradual transformation of the intellect from a "vile" state of unconsciousness to a "noble" dimension of awareness, characterized by the balance achieved by the triad body-soul-spirit. Many of the classic symbols of esoteric culture recur in the Alchemical Door. Among them the figure of Mercury (Hermes) stands out, the first agent of the Philosopher's Stone, synthesis of male and female and metaphor of perfection, of balance between opposites.
