Immaginare il Nord

The essay traces the emergence and diffusion of images associated with the idea of the North. It is thus perceived and represented in its opposition between light and darkness, which becomes the opposition between good and evil. The fascination of the North is linked to its geomorphological and weather situation, which makes it a primordial place. It is there that European peoples of Germanic descent go in search of their pagan origins. The North, therefore, went from being an unknown and disturbing place to a symbol of cultural roots. From the pre-Romantic period, this perception was accompanied by two others : the North was a place of primeval nature, as well as a of purity and moral strength. All of this, thanks in part to the fantasy literature that drew on this heritage, led to the formation of a stereotyped view of this world that still accompanies much of the reception of the North today.