Reificazione archeologica del mito. Il progetto come atto mitopoietico del paesaggio

Abstract

This paper reflects on the revelatory poetics of myth as an active tool in landscape design, examin-ing its deeper structural and critical-operative dimensions. Rather than a purely enigmatic narrative or mere imaginative surface, myth embodies a necessary form intrinsically tied to human surviv-al. In the construction of landscape, this relationship establishes a foundational pact with the en-vironment, whose contemporary integrity carries onerous responsibility. Described as a “true word that unveils the ἀρχή” (Venturi Ferriolo, 2022), myth can activate novel design potentials, especial-ly within archaeological landscapes that exist in a state of temporal suspension. These landscapes navigate a labyrinthine “formidably tangled and fragmentarily preserved” condition (Carandini, 2000). Here, myth extends beyond archaeological fragments to permeate the mythopoietic ele-ments with which architecture engage(d), such as soil, not simply excavated matter but an active deposit of living earth. Through two paradigmatic case studies, this paper demonstrates how myth reifies itself within the landscape’s matters, guiding potential mythopoietic interpretations and de-sign strategies for these places.