‘The hidden geometry of Gioacchino da Fiore’, the book by Jaak Geerits presented in Rome

2023-10-21 20:27:57

Jaak Geerits’ book “The hidden geometry of Gioacchino da Fiore” was presented at the Calabrian Cultural Center “Cassiodoro” in Rome. The event, which took place in the space granted by the president of the Centre, the Knight Vincenzo Cortese, was attended by Archbishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the pontifical academy of theology and scholar of Gioacchino da Fiore, Giuseppe Riccardo Succurro, president of the international center of Gioachimiti studies and the mayor of the city of S.Giovanni in Fiore Rosa Succurro. Gioacchino da Fiore was an abbot, theologian and philosopher of the 12th century, also mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy (‘the Calavrian abbot Giovacchino / gifted with a prophetic spirit’) and included in the 12th canto of Paradise among the Wise Spirits of the second crown. Abbot of the Cistercian order, he founded a new monastic order in 1189, later called Florense, which had its first monastery near San Giovanni in Fiore.

“The planet today is threatened by many wars, and perhaps reacting with the cultural push of history and spirituality is the right thing,” said mayor Succurro, highlighting the importance of the thought promoted by Gioacchino da Fiore. Monsignor Staglianò spoke of the Joachimite doctrine “as an engine of history, as a force and power of change in human relations, including social and civil ones”. The event then focused on one of the most studied drawings made by the abbot, the “three Trinitarian circles” which not only represent the father, the son and the holy spirit but also the study of colors and optics. “Joachim’s optics of light certainly take up the Islamic school of Al Hazen, which he learned about when he left Palermo to go to the Holy Land – explained Geerits – These studies were done on the basis of mathematics and optics and are centered on the mix of blue, red and green colors which when put together create a pure color: white. Green for God, blue for the son and red for the holy spirit.”

According to the writer, Abbot Joachim “to create his geometric figures, which can be guessed in his drawings”, also used mathematical formulas. “Some of these, I think I managed to identify, such as “the gold section” or the radius of the circle, and “squaring the circle” the circle inside the square. All built with ruler and compass. A figure that I identified based on these mathematical formulas used is the spiral, inspired by Archimedes. The latter in fact designed the ordinary spiral but also the growing spiral which Da Fiore was inspired by to design the ‘Great Red Dragon’ which at first glance seems to reproduce a tornado but depicts a snake biting its tail, a symbol believed ‘alchemist'”. Many other symbols analyzed during the conference such as “The tree of humanity” and “The wings of the eagle” in a mix of faith, trinity, mathematics and geometry which, according to the writer Geerits and the guests, are the essence of the character Gioacchino da Fiore, theologian and philosopher of the 11th century.