Mitreo di Angera

TNMM 82 ↔ CIMRM 716

In the rock about half-way up the mountain on which the castle of Angera is situated, a cave, which in popular language is called: "la Tana del lupo", has been hewn out.

The limestone cave, in which the Mithraeum (L. 7.50 Br. 4.70 H. 4.80) is situated, opens in the East. Above and around the entry (Br. 3.60) in the outer- wall fourteen rectangular holes have been made, in which still traces of cement can be found. Above these there are moreover four big square holes, so that it may be accepted that they served as sockets to hold the posts of a wooden entrance-hall. The cave itself served as the apse to the sanctuary. In the back-wall a niche (H. 1.00 Br. 1.40 D. 0.40) has been hewn out, in which the cult-relief had been erected. Along the left wall a bench has been constructed (L. 2.25 Br. 0.25), while on the right hand side of the cave a natural opening (Br. 0.80) gives entry into a steep flight of stairs, leading to an excavation through which light and air could enter.

Among the finds, in and in front of the Mithraeum, there were numerous fragments of crockery. Further bones of cattle, goats, poultry and swine. Before the entrance two skeletons were found. It is not sure however, if these finds may be connected with the cult, as they mostly seem to have served to fill up and strenghten the floor. The numerous coins mainly date from the fourth century. In the temple itself no reliefs or altars have been found. Though at Angera two Mithras-inscriptions were found (see below), it is quite possible that they may come from a second sanctuary which is thought to have stood in the garden of Dr. Castiglioni, where they are kept nowadays. It is remarkable, that in this small place also dedications to Jupiter, Hercules, Mercurius and Silvanus are found, beside those to Mithras.

The existence of a mithraeum at Angera (VA, Italy) was assumed for the first time in the XIX century, after the discovery of two Mithraic inscriptions re-used as ornaments of a private garden in the middle of the small town. The location of the alleged mithraeum is still uncertain: the inscriptions have been found out of context, and the place of worship has never been localized.

The “Antro mitraico” (Mithraic Cave), also known as “Tana del Lupo”, is a natural cave situated at the base of the East wall of the cliff on which the Rocca Borromeo (the Castle of Angera) stands. At the cave the most visible archaeological evidences are tens of breaches cut into the outside rocky wall, which probably contained votive inscriptions or stele. These elements denote the use of the cave as a place of worship. In 1868 Biondelli identified in the cave the location of a mithraic cult, giving rise to a theory that continues still today. If on the one hand the proposal appeared plausible, there is no clear evidence that in the cave a mithraeum was ever set up; besides, the presence of many an ex voto is in conflict with the mysteric ritual practices.

The [so-called] Antro di Mitra in Angera is a natural cave of elliptical shape, measuring 7.50 metres by 4.70 metres, with a height of 4.80 metres in the centre. It would be the only known mithraeum in Lombardy.

In the distant Mesolithic period, the period between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic (about 7,000 years before Christ), man found shelter here, as he did in other places in the province of Varese: finds of the same type and from the same period have been found in the caves of Valganna and in the caves of Campo dei Fiori.