Architettura, decorazione e spazio sacro a Hierapolis di Frigia. Il tempio severiano del Santuario di Apollo

The paper focuses on the relationships between architecture, decoration and context, through the case study of the Severan temple (Building A) in the Sanctuary of Apollo at Hierapolis of Phrygia. Thanks to the graphic reconstruction of the monument and the careful contextualization of decorative patterns it is possible to highlight the strategies of the decor, i.e. its role in the project and its efficacy for the ancient viewers. The prostylos Corinthian temple was built in the advanced Severan period (about 220-230 AD) in the place of a Julio-Claudian building, following some clear guidelines of the project. First, an emphatic main front was obtained both through some architectural solutions and appropriate selection of decorative patterns; this specific configuration of the front is analysed in relation to the entrances to the sacred space and the physical and visual pathways inside the sanctuary. Furthermore, the project aimed at a baroque layout of the temple walls by means of a multiplication of decorative patters inside and outside the entablature, also introducing an innovative hypertrophic field for the decor. Finally, the reconstructive hypothesis of the lower part of the cella suggests that the never completely finished orthostates were designed to receive a high figural frieze, according to Syrian architectural models. This reconstruction reveals a systematic search for a stronger integration between architecture and sculpture that is also typical of the Microasiatic middle-Imperial architecture. Finally, the paper discusses the temple inside the composite space of the Sanctuary of Apollo, where the memories of the old sacred buildings coexisted with long-lasting building sites and the extraordinary geothermal manifestations of the underground, such as the hot springs and the poisonous gases.