<i>L'esilio di un eroe culturale. Per una lettura antropologica del</i> De Reditu <i>di Rutilio Namaziano</i>

Abstract

Since the first lines of De reditu, Rutilius Namatianus's long way home assumes the form of a paradoxical exilic journey towards his own land. In an Urbs that is everywhere, but whose symbolic tissue begins to flake off as a result of the barbaric invasions, the poet tries to bestow on his persona the traits of an idealized Romanity, in order to escape the danger of the loss of significance. By so doing, Rutilius constructs himself as a sort of cultural hero, who is going to re-assign to the Gallic space (which is risking to become a non-lieu) the marks of Rome's cultural identity.