The Place-making Function of Ritual Movement at Rome: from the Salians to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Abstract

Ritual movement, i.e. the movement of individuals or groups on a more or less fixed route for religious reasons or purposes (e.g. processions), always played a major role in Roman religious life. Such kind of rituals could have a place-making function: through their continued and repeated performance they contributed to the cultural, social, and physical creation of religious places, ultimately becoming embedded in Rome’s sacred landscape. The case studies of ritual movement considered in this paper will be an ancient one, the ritual celebrated by the Salians, and the procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.