Il tema della maschera fogliata nell’architettura severiana del Nord Italia: forme e contenuti di un’occasione di celebrazione del potere imperiale

The theme of the leafy mask (Blattmaske) is widely attested in the decorations of Roman imperial architectures, mainly in the first decades of the III century A. D. In can be found, in particular, in some Severan monuments of the capital, as the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum, the Arch of the Argentarii and the Baths of Caracalla. All these buildings had a very important ideological value, celebrating the imperial family and their accomplishments through the images here exhibited. In this way, the Romans created a communication between the clients and the observers. The leafy masks were part of this, alluding to the wealth and prosperity created by the Severan emperors. They were used with the same meaning in the decorations of some important public monuments in the fora of Milan and Aquileia, where intensive construction work was undertaken during the Severan period. Therefore, it’s possible to identify in these cities of Northern Italy the use of Blattmasken as a tool to celebrate the imperial power in public crowded places, according to the models of the capital. The Severan emperors probably needed this strategy to consolidate their leadership in the Roman state.