The Rare Octagonal Square. Exploring Its Secrets

Located on the northern shore of Lake Bolsena in the northern part of the Lazio region in central Italy, this small town with a current population of about 2,100,San Lorenzo NuovoSan Lorenzo Nuovo, is a new town created in 1774. (Nuovo means new.)

Before that, there was a town called San Lorenzo located 2 km south of the current town, near Lake Bolsena. However, the water level of the lake rose, the coastal land became swampy, and malaria broke out. The already impoverished, farmer-centered population of San Lorenzo dwindled further. Furthermore, land reclamation projects ended in failure. Therefore, Pope Clement XIV intervened, and the church relocated the 356 remaining residents to the high ground of the hills.

This is how the currentSan Lorenzo NuovoSan Lorenzo Nuovo was born.

When building the new town, architect Francesco Navone was inspired by theoctagonalsquare of Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen and created anoctagonalsquare in the center of the town. In central Italy, where many towns retain their medieval streetscapes, San Lorenzo Nuovo stands out for its neoclassical features.

But was theoctagonal shapechosen simply because it was a 'copy' of the Copenhagen square?

In fact, there are severaloctagonalbuildings remaining in this area that date back to the 1500s. And the construction of these buildings involved Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, a leading architect of the Renaissance. He attended the Platonic Academy of the Medici family in Florence, where many philosophers, writers, and artists gathered. There, the philosophy of classical Greek antiquity, including Plato, was discussed. It was an era when astrology and alchemy were not yet clearly distinguished from science.

In astrology, it was believed that earthly events and human destiny were related to the power of celestial bodies. And, for example, it was thought that the power of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was needed in places where masculine and violent energy gathered.

The octagon is a shape between a perfect circle and a perfect square. Therefore, it was considered in the sacred geometry of the time to be a gateway that could receive energy from the heavens, or Venus. (In Christianity, the dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, descends into an octagonal baptismal font, which is usually placed at the entrance of a church. Even as religions and symbols change, the same way of thinking is inherited.)

Actually, this is the same way of thinking as the 'Bagua mirror' in Eastern Feng Shui philosophy!

It seems that this square is octagonal not just because it was a copy of Copenhagen, but because it was chosen through sacred geometry to suppress masculine and violent energy. This seems clear from its connection to other buildings.

I will write about what kind of connections there are and what kind of masculine energy exists next time!

Next article: The octagonal square of San Lorenzo Nuovo was connected in a straight line to other octagonal buildings!

Reference materials:
http://www.meteosanlorenzo.altervista.org/blog/?q=la-storia-di-san-lorenzo-nuovo

https://vimeo.com/295377234