What’s in the Past

Symbols, Rituals and Folkloric Imagery in Historical-Comparative Perspective

By (author) Ignazio E. Buttitta Series edited by Bernhard Zimmermann

Book cover: What’s in the Past

Extent: 126 pages

Publisher: Wiley-VCH

Subjects: Anthropology, Classical Studies, World Archaeology

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(October 2023)

ISBN: 9783949189845

6.3 x 9.25 inches

Price: $82.00

In stock

Among the main questions relating to the interpretation of popular religiosity phenomena there are those on the usefulness of historical sources (archaeological and documentary) for the purposes of understanding the mythical-ritual present, on the presumed chronological continuity of practices and beliefs and on the legitimacy and effectiveness of historical-comparative method. These questions deserve to be taken up again on the basis of renewed investigations. This volume presents important works by Ignazio Buttitta and proposes an interpretation of religious phenomena attentive to the historical reconstruction of ritual symbolism.


Among the main questions relating to the interpretation of popular religiosity phenomena there are those on the usefulness of historical sources (archaeological and documentary) for the purposes of understanding the mythical-ritual present, on the presumed chronological continuity of practices and beliefs and on the legitimacy and effectiveness of historical-comparative method. These questions deserve to be taken up again on the basis of renewed investigations in the face of the now-occurring dissolution of what has been defined as “peasant civilization” and the renewed interest in intangible heritage both by communities in search of identity matrices and cultural memories and by part of the so-called “cultural market”. This volume presents important works by Ignazio Buttitta.

  • By (author) Ignazio E. Buttitta
  • Series edited by Bernhard Zimmermann