Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Future
of Resilient Finance
Finance Politics in the Age of Sustainable
Development
Julia M. Puaschunder
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Columbia University
New York, NY, USA
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2023
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Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) 5
1.2 Green New Deals 7
1.3 Green Finance and Climate Stabilization
Financialization 9
1.4 The Future of Resilience Finance Leadership 11
References 12
2 Resilience Finance Leadership 15
2.1 Resilient Finance 24
2.2 Responsible Investment 31
2.3 Finance Politics 36
References 49
3 Resilient Finance in Responsible Investment 55
3.1 Introduction 56
3.2 Corporate Social Responsibility 59
3.3 Financial Social Responsibility 61
3.4 Socially Responsible Investment 63
3.5 Resilient Finance 71
3.6 COVID-19-Induced Inequality 74
3.7 Corporate Social Justice 78
3.8 Environmental Attention 80
3.9 Green Deals 82
v
vi CONTENTS
3.10 Diversity 83
References 92
4 Global Perspectives 103
4.1 Introduction 105
4.2 International Developments 109
4.3 Resilient Finance After the Great Reset 116
4.3.1 Inequality in the Socio-Economic Fallout
of COVID-19 116
4.3.2 Resilient Finance as the Great Equalizer 123
References 138
5 Environmental Financialization 153
5.1 Economics of the Environment 154
5.2 Sustainable Finance 157
5.3 Climate Stabilization Financialization 163
References 178
6 The Future of Resilient Green Finance 185
6.1 Institutional Landscape 187
6.2 Green Banking and Green Finance 191
6.3 The Future 198
6.3.1 Green Bonds 198
6.3.2 Green FinTech and Cryptocurrencies Outer
Space Exploration Funding 203
References 206
7 Finance Diplomacy: The Politics and International
Relations of Finance 211
7.1 Introduction 212
7.2 Climate Change Resiliency Financing 215
7.2.1 Climate Change 215
7.3 Climate Resilience Finance 218
7.4 Climate Economic Prospects 219
7.5 Resilient Redistribution 220
7.6 Science Diplomacy 222
7.7 Science Diplomacy Index (SDI) 224
7.8 Research Question and Hypotheses 228
7.9 Climate Justice 229
7.10 Climate Resiliency Financing Implementation 237
CONTENTS vii
Index 365
About the Author
ix
List of Figures
xi
xii LIST OF FIGURES
xiii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Resilience Finance
Ever since crises have become turning points for society. The 2008/
2009 World Financial Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic external
shock changed international finance around the world. In light of system-
inherent and external shocks but also looming environmental crises,
finance has been put into service for society in providing one of the most
powerful means for resilience in liquidity. While resilience is a dynamic
mechanism to cope with crises in many domains, the uncertainty and
complexity imbued in sustaining large-scale and widespread shocks make
resilience prone to diverge from slow-thinking optimal choice mechanisms
as practiced in standard neoclassical economics.
Resilience finance draws attention to the economic rationality imbued
in leadership management theory and practice for the concept of market
survival. Leadership theory with economic calculus holds the most sophis-
ticated means to efficient goal attainment and contingency strategy plan
execution, which is fundamental for resilience. Given the worldwide
impetus of contemporary crises—such as the 2008/2009 World Finan-
cial Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic as well as climate change—the
time has come to imbue efficiency in resilience in resilience leadership in
finance.
1 INTRODUCTION 3
New Deal in the United States and the European Green Deal in the Euro-
pean Union are plans to peg crisis rescue and recovery packages to societal
advancement. Resilience finance in climate justice redistribution pledges
addresses global inequality alleviation in redistributing global economic
gains of internal and external shocks within society, between nations and
over time.
The post-COVID-19 recovery era is also a time of blatant disparities
and inequalities in terms of access to healthcare and social justice. The
COVID-19 bailout and recovery packages provide a unique opportunity
to develop fairer and more sustainable societies. How to align economic
interests with justice and fairness notions is the question of our times
when considering the massive challenges faced in terms of environmental
challenges, healthcare demands and social justice pledges. In many coun-
tries, governmental crisis aid is particularly pegged to concrete social,
economic and environmental causes. In the aftermath of the COVID-
19 pandemic shock and its subsequent economic fallout, the currently
largest-ever governmental rescue and recovery aid is justified by the
positive multiplier effect in the hope for a revitalization of the economy.
The economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated socio-
economic disparities and inequalities. The new finance order in the
aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic leverages responsible finance as
a means to alleviate the finance performance versus real economy gap.
The different affective fallout propensities disparately distributed within
society create social volatility. High inflation and longest-ever low interest
rate regimes dominate the call for responsible finance that targets rescue,
recovery and relief aid. Urban, local, regional or national foci as well as
global and future-oriented beneficiaries of governmental recovery aid are
potential recipients of aid. Institutional frameworks may ground recovery
support with a long-term future-oriented sustainability vision.
With the largest rescue and recovery funds being distributed around
the world in response to the economic fallout of the crisis, economic
growth is currently also being called for being inclusive and green in light
of growing awareness of inequality and climate change. With the COVID-
19 governmental control and liquidity provision needs around the world,
finance has also become political in funding political crises resilience and
divestiture acts as never before in the history of modern times. In the
eye of global inequalities rising, governments around the world tried to
1 INTRODUCTION 5
align economic interest with justice and fairness notions in our turbu-
lent world—driven by pandemics, economic turmoil, the onset of climate
change and, more recently, the re-emergence of East–West tensions.
The new role of capital, during contemporary world events, lever-
aged finance as a novel political and international relation means to make
the world a safer, fairer, more sustainable place, in which the economic
benefits of our times are distributed more equitably. In the post-2008/
2009 World Financial Recession era and after the COVID-19 pandemic
inequality gap featuring rising cost of living expenses, resilience finance
has also entered the corporate world with a boost for social responsibility
and financial conscientiousness—for one in negative screenings and sanc-
tion mechanisms in international law infringements—for another in the
establishment and fortification of the current Sustainable Development
Goals.
This book provides the theoretical foundations for possibilities to make
resilience more efficient via leadership insights. The societal impetus of
finance portrays liquidity as a panacea to help ease the most pressing law
and economics predicaments of our times. The monograph also provides
vivid cases where finance became more responsible and sustainable after
the 2008/2009 World Financial Recession. In addition, examples are
given where finance provides access to funds to sustain the climate crisis
more equitably. Capturing positive perspectives of resilience finance, this
work depicts the most recent governance, governmental and industry
resilience finance developments. The book also addresses social, environ-
mental and sustainable corporate and finance trends in Corporate Social
Responsibility and Financial Social Responsibility. Climate change and
environmental equity are portrayed to steer the power of finance via
redistribution for enabling a better world through responsible investing.
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank issued economic stimulus and
relief efforts in the hundred billion USD range with the majority of relief
aid being distributed in the developing world (Alpert, 2021; World Bank,
2020a, 2020b, 2020c).
Across countries, economic stimulus responses to the COVID-19 crisis
outsize those to the 2008 Financial Crisis (Cassim et al., 2020; The
White House, 2021). The qualitative and quantitative stimulus, rescue
and recovery aid have surpassed any other similar attempt in human
history. Economic COVID-19 stimulus and relief efforts mainly comprise
international fiscal and monetary stimulus and relief efforts but also direct
rescue bailout packages. The potential focus of bailouts and recovery
ranges from urban-local and national to even global and future-oriented
beneficiaries, as pursued in public investments on climate stabilization in
the US Green New Deal or European Green Deal Sustainable Finance
Taxonomy.
In the United States, the current rescue funds are targeting a transition
to renewable energy in the wake of the so-called Green New Deal (GND).
Inspired by the economic success story of the New Deal reform of the
United States to recover from the Great Depression of the 1920s, the
so-called Green New Deal (GND) is a large-scale governmental attempt
to secure a sustainable economic solution in harmony with the earth’s
resources (Braga et al., 2020). The GND targets at strengthening the
United States economy and foster inclusive growth. One core GND
strategy is to share the economic growth benefits more equally within
society. The GND advocates for using a transition to renewable energy
and sustainable growth to stimulate economic growth (116th Congress of
the United States, House Resolution 109, Introduced February 7, 2019).
In times of rising inequality, the GND has also become a vehicle to deter-
mine the COVID-19 economic bailout and recover aid targets. The GND
thereby combines Roosevelt’s economic approach with modern ideas of
economic stimulus incentivizing industries for a transition to renewable
energy and resource efficiency as well as healthcare equality and social
justice pledges (Puaschunder 2020b, 2021).
In the European Union, the European Green Deal marries the idea
of finance with sustainability. In response to the crisis of responsi-
bility in markets and the widening inequality gaps, the European Bank
Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) coordinates resilient finance
endeavors in Europe (LaBrosse et al., 2014). The financial crisis revealed
the substantial reform need for member-state bank deposit guarantee
1 INTRODUCTION 9
as well as foreign direct investments and trade policies have become inter-
twined with the idea of environmental stability as a key to prosperity.
Green finance promises to promote the positive development of ecolog-
ical environments in booming economies with positive spillover effects on
society (Li & Gan, 2021).
One of the starkest examples of green finance is the currently-debated
financialization of climate stabilization. Today’s urgent global challenges
regarding climate change demand fast action from the global commu-
nity. Research has elucidated the economic impact of climate change on
the world and found vast national differences in Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) prospects under climate change around the world (Puaschunder,
2020a). Climate inequality arises within society, between nations and
in-between generations.
One of the most promising avenues for finding the funds for climate
change mitigation and adaptation strategies around the world proposes a
redistribution of some of the expected relative economic short-term gains
from a warming globe in taxation and green bonds to areas that are losing
out from global warming the fastest and most in order to protect the
most vulnerable populations (Puaschunder, 2020a). This book proposes
to alleviate climate inequalities in redistribution mechanisms enacted by a
taxation-and-bonds strategy based on 9 indices.
A 9-index redistribution model for economic prospects under climate
change is introduced to determine a fair share of relative expected short-
term economic gains under global warming. Redistributing some of the
expected economic gains of a warming globe is meant to offset economic
losses based on economic, historic, ecological and political factors. The
model determining redistribution patterns throughout the world is based
on the geo-impact of climate change, the financial crisis resilience capa-
bilities as well as the global connectivity and science diplomacy leadership
of a country.
Empirically, nine indices provide a basis to determine which countries
should be using a taxation strategy and which countries should be granted
climate bond premiums to enact a fair redistribution between countries.
A country’s starting ground on the climate gains and losses spectrum, a
country’s climate flexibility in terms of temperature zones and a coun-
try’s CO2 emissions contributions in production and consumption levels
as well as a country’s CO2 emissions levels changes and the historically-
grown bank lending rate, as well as resilient finance strategies coupled
with science diplomacy leadership and economic connectivity on the inter-
national level, thereby determine whether a country is on the taxation
1 INTRODUCTION 11
the disparate impact of the external shock on the finance world and the
real economy. Finance after the Great COVID-19 Reset is prospected to
flourish resilience in sustainable development. Active stakeholder engage-
ment and green regulation ranging from community investment projects
in the finance world after the COVID-19 pandemic up to finance diplo-
macy on the climate agenda on a global scale are shaping the new era of
resilient finance.
In analyzing the new role of social online media, finance can be under-
stood as a new democratized form of voicing opinion. On the most
futuristic account, resilient finance also serves future-oriented access to
revenues in online social media and cryptocurrencies.
References
116th Congress of the United States, House Resolution 109, Introduced
February 7, 2019, Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a
Green New Deal. https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hres109/BILLS-116
hres109ih.pdf. Accessed September 30, 2020.
Ahmad, M. (2008, January 24). Global CEOs at World Economic Forum cite
sovereign wealth funds as the new power broker. BI-ME.
Alpert, G. (2021, May 26). International COVID-19 stimulus and relief:
International fiscal and monetary stimulus and relief efforts. Investopedia.
https://www.investopedia.com/government-stimulus-and-relief-efforts-to-
fight-the-covid-19-crisis-5113980.
Beltratti, A. (2003). Socially responsible investment in general equilibrium:
Economic theory and applications. www.ssrn.com
Braga, J. P., Fischermann, T., & Semmler, W. (2020, March 10). Ökonomie und
Klimapolitik: So könnte es gehen. Die Zeit, 11, 5.
Campbell, R. (2008). Harvey’s hypertextual finance glossary. http://www.duke.
edu/~charvey/Classes/wpg/bfglosa.htm
Cassim, Z., Handjiski, B., Schubert, J., & Zouaoui, Y. (2020, June). The
$10 trillion rescue: How governments can deliver impact Governments have
announced the provision of trillions of dollars in crisis relief, but translating
that into sustained recovery will not be easy, McKinsey, Public Sector Practice
report. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Pub
lic%20Sector/Our%20Insights/The%2010%20trillion%20dollar%20rescue%
20How%20governments%20can%20deliver%20impact/The-10-trillion-dollar-
rescue-How-governments-can-deliver-impact-vF.pdf
Dupré, D., Girerd-Potin, I., & Kassoua, R. (2008). Adding an ethical dimension
to portfolio management. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_
id=394101
1 INTRODUCTION 13
Hilsenrath, J., Ng, S., & Paletta. (2008, September 18). Worst crisis since ’30s,
with no end yet in sight. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/art
icles/SB122169431617549947
LaBrosse, J. R., Olivares-Caminal, R., & Singh, D. (2014). The EU bank
recovery and resolution directive—Some observations on the financing
arrangements. Journal of Banking Regulation, 15, 218–226. https://doi.org/
10.1057/jbr.2014.17
Lengfeld, H., & Kley, F. K. (2021). Conditioned solidarity: EU citizens’ attitudes
towards economic and social austerities for crisis countries receiving financial
aid. Acta Politica, 56, 330–350. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-020-001
79-z
Li, C., & Gan, Y. (2021). The spatial spillover effects of green finance on ecolog-
ical environment—empirical research based on spatial econometric model.
Environmental Science Pollution Research, 28, 5651–5665. https://doi.org/
10.1007/s11356-020-10961-3
Livesey, S. M. (2002). The discourse of the middle ground: Citizen Shell
commits to sustainable development. Management Communication Quarterly,
15, 313–349.
Matten, D., & Crane, A. (2005). Corporate citizenship: Toward an extended
theoretical conceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 30, 166–179.
Mohr, L. A., Webb, D. J., & Harris, K. E. (2001). Do consumers expect compa-
nies to be socially responsible? The impact of corporate social responsibility
on buying behavior. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35(1), 45–72.
Puaschunder, J. M. (2020a). Governance and climate justice: Global south and
developing nations. Springer.
Puaschunder, J. M. (2020b, August 17). The green new deal: Historical founda-
tions, economic fundamentals and implementation strategies. In Proceedings
of the 18th research association for interdisciplinary studies conference on social
sciences and humanities.
Puaschunder, J. M.. (2021, March 1). Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of
the Green New Deal (GND) and European Green Deal (EGD). In 21st
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Puaschunder, J. M. (2022). Advances in behavioral economics and finance lead-
ership: Strategic leadership, wise followership and conscientious usership in the
digital century. Springer.
Renneboog, L. D. R., Horst, J. T. R., & Zhang, C. (2007). Socially responsible
investments: Methodology, risk and performance (Tilburg University Center for
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Schueth, S. (2003). Socially responsible investing in the United States. Journal
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Schumpeter, J. A. (1942). Capitalism, socialism and democracy. Harper.
14 J. M. PUASCHUNDER
Nilotica sistris
Ripa sonat phariosque modos Ægyptia ducit
Tibia, submissis admugit cornibus Apis [208].
Pur nel recinto del tempio sono due camerette per l’abitazione de’
sacerdoti, poi una cucina, nella quale si riconobbero squamme di
pesci ed ossa di prosciutto, e contiguo un luogo per l’acquajo. In una
delle camere si scoprì lo scheletro d’un sacerdote con una scure in
mano, altri in altre località si rinvennero del tempio, ed all’ingresso
dalla parte del teatro un altro ancora, e siccome a lui presso si
raccolsero 360 monete d’argento, sei d’oro, quarantadue di bronzo,
barattoli d’argento, figurette d’Iside, cucchiaj, fermagli, pàtere, tazze
d’argento, un cammeo rappresentante un satiro col tamburello, un
anello con pietre ed orecchini, fu supposto con certa ragione potesse
essere lo scheletro d’un sacerdote colto da morte nel punto in cui
fuggiva per porre in salvo il tesoro della Dea. Il Bulwer riconobbe in
questi scheletri i due sacerdoti d’Iside del suo romanzo, Arbace e
Caleno; era l’interpretazione opportuna che il poeta faceva delle
passioni svolte nell’opera sua di questi due personaggi.
Dietro il santuario evvi un altro locale, al quale si giunge traversando
diverse arcate. Gli venne dato il nome di Curia Isiaca. È un edificio di
genere osco, al pari della denominazione che vi si trovò e che fu
letta da Jannelli per Cereiiai Pumpaiianai, cioè Curia Pompejana, o
secondo l’iscrizione in questo dialetto che vi si è pure scoperta e
che, letta, si chiamava trebus.
Anche qui si ritrovarono all’epoca di sua scoperta, cioè dal 1764 al
1766, due sistri, due lettisternii, uno di bronzo con fregi d’argento,
l’altro d’avorio in frantumi, un candelabro di bronzo in forma di loto,
pianta acquatica dell’Egitto (bot. nymphea), due pregevoli idoli
egiziani di basalto, che sostengono colle due mani in testa una gran
patera, erme e teste di numi.
Dal tutt’assieme si evince che in somma venerazione fosse Iside
presso i Pompejani. Le allegazioni che son venuto recando di poeti e
scrittori del tempo, provano che non diversamente fosse adorata nel
restante del mondo romano, malgrado le leggi assai spesso, come
dissi, contro il suo culto bandite.
Se Voltaire non ha celiato, egli sforzossi di provare come gli odierni
Zingari siano un avanzo degli antichi sacerdoti e sacerdotesse
d’Iside, misti con quelle della Dea di Siria. Ai tempi d’Apulejo quei
sacri impostori avevano già perduto il credito e, spregiati dai poveri,
vagavano di luogo in luogo vendendo predizioni e curando malati. Lo
stesso Voltaire osserva argutamente a tale proposito che Apulejo
non dimenticò l’abilità loro propria di rubare nei cortili. «Tale,
conchiude, fu la fine dell’antico culto d’Iside ed Osiride, i cui nomi
ancora ci inspirano rispetto.»
Tempio d’Esculapio o di Giove e di Giunone.
Tempio di Mercurio.
Come per gli altri templi pompeiani, così anche per questo piccolo
tempio, che dal suo principio, cioè dalla scoperta fattane nel 1817,
ebbe dalla Direzione degli Scavi la designazione di Mercurio, per
una statuetta che di questo Dio fu tosto rinvenuta, si affaticarono gli
archeologi a supporvi altra destinazione. Il prof. Garrucci [215] lo volle
consacrato ad Augusto, senza per altro ristare davanti all’esistenza
in Pompei d’un altro tempio sacro allo stesso divinizzato imperatore,
pur da lui riconosciuto nel Panteon di cui fra poco avrò a dire. Altri
poi il pretesero sacro a Quirino.
Questi ultimi almeno si fecero forti nella opinione loro della iscrizione
tutta guasta rinvenuta su d’un piedistallo in vicinanza delle porte del
tempio e che il celebre storico ed archeologo tedesco Mommsen,
tanto benemerito de’ nostri patrii studj, ha creduto di potere ristabilire
e leggere in questo modo [216].
ROMVLVS MARTIS
FILIVS VRBEM ROMam
CondidIT ET REGNAVIT ANNOS
Duo de quADRAGINTA ISQVE
Primus dux DVCE HOSTIVM
Acrone rege CAENINENSIVM
interfECTO SPOLIA opima
Iovi FERETRIO CONSECRavit
RECEPTVSQVE IN DEORUM
NVMERVM QVIRINVS APELLATVS EST [217].
Se non che non può essere questa una perentoria ragione che
prodursi voglia ad accogliere siffatta opinione, da che elevandosi
questo tempio nel mezzo del lato orientale del Foro, dal quale non è
separato che da un angusto vestibolo, il piedistallo e la statua di
Romolo che vi sarà stata sopra, potessero servire di decorazione al
Foro stesso, senza quindi aver relazione alcuna col prossimo
tempio. «D’altronde, osserva opportunamente Dyer, siccome un’altra
iscrizione simile relativa ad Enea, si trovava al lato opposto, è
evidente ch’esse hanno appartenuto a due statue di questi
personaggi. Del resto non è una iscrizione di questa specie che
sarebbe stata collocata sotto la statua d’una divinità» [218].
Quando invece si rifletta che Pompei era, come feci notare in
addietro più volte, navale di molto momento, ossia porto marittimo
importante e commerciale, doveva esser più che giusto che i
Pompeiani avessero in onore e in venerazione il Dio de’
commercianti e de’ naviganti, oltre a tutti gli altri attributi che la
superstizione pagana gli concedeva e che Ferrante Guisoni
compendiò in questi versi:
Una reliquia della più antica arte greca offre Pompei nel mezzo del
Foro Triangolare ne’ pochi resti di un tempio, che per la sua vetustà,
per le favolose origini, ne’ capitoli della storia da me recate, non che
per la prossimità del bidental, di cui dirò fra breve, con tal quale
fondamento venne ritenuto sacro ad Ercole, come reputo pur io
doversi ritenere a questo semidio; ma il dotto Gau, per la situazione
di esso vicina al mare, che domina dalla sua altura, sentenziò invece
consacrato a Nettuno. In molte Guide e in libri che trattano delle
pompejane antichità, senza entrare in tante congetture e
archeologiche disquisizioni, venne questo vetustissimo monumento
designato del resto benanco col semplice nome di tempio greco.
Avverto ciò, onde il lettore che consultando quegli scritti,
raffrontandoli col mio, non vi trovando detto del tempio greco,
credesse farmene un appunto.
V’ha qualcuno che ne fa rimontare l’edificazione nientemeno che
all’ottavo secolo avanti l’era volgare; lo che se fosse constatato,
proverebbe avere Pompei esistito qualche secolo prima di Roma.
Certo è che tale edificio si chiarisce infatti anteriore d’assai ai
monumenti romani. Esso venne scoperto nel 1786.
I pochi avanzi che si hanno attestano da un lato la purezza de’
principj dell’arte che v’ha presieduto, e dall’altro che già dovesse
essere in istato di deperimento e rovina assai prima che il Vesuvio lo
seppellisse sotto i proprj furori.
«Il suo piano, scrive Bréton, — che in fatto d’architettura
specialmente è utilissimo consultare nell’opera sua Pompeja, già da
me più volte invocata ad autorità, — era intieramente conforme a
quello de’ templi greci, e lo stile di qualche frammento della sua
architettura non permette di dubitare che questo monumento non sia
stato uno de’ primi costruiti dalla colonia greca che fondò Pompei.
Questo tempio era ottastilo e periptero: i quattro capitelli dorici che si
rinvennero sono pressochè in tutto simili a quelli dei templi di
Selinunte e Pesto e scolpiti nella pietra calcare formata dal deposito
delle acque del Sarno» [228].
Si innalza esso su di un basamento costituito da cinque gradini o
piuttosto scaglioni, perchè su d’essi nel mezzo dell’asse della
facciata era costruita una gradinata più praticabile e comoda. Nel
centro dello stilobato eravi il pronao, per il quale si entrava nella cella
o santuario. Nel mezzo di esso sussiste un piedistallo rotondo che
aveva servito alla statua della divinità alla quale il tempio era
consacrato.
Avanti la facciata riscontransi pure gli avanzi di un recinto, che il
succitato continuatore di Mazois, il sullodato signor Gau, crede
avesse dovuto servire a ricevere le ceneri de’ sacrificj. Alla destra
del recinto veggonsi tre altari: quello di mezzo per le libazioni, quello
più elegante per i sagrificj delle vittime piccole e l’altro per le più
grosse.
Dietro questo recinto si scorge un Puteale, o forse più propriamente
ciò che i Romani chiamavano Bidental. Importa il farlo conoscere,
perocchè sia per avventura l’unico monumento che esista di questo
genere di costruzioni.
Festo afferma come si chiamasse bidentale qualunque tempio in cui
si immolassero bidenti, cioè pecore atte al sagrificio, e Virgilio e
Fedro e Orazio e tutti gli scrittori pur del buon secolo, bidenti
usarono senz’altro promiscuamente per pecore. Eccone i loro
esempj:
Ante secundam
Roscius orabat sibi adesses ad puteal cras [234].
Di ciò fu causa che il più antico puteale costruito nel Foro di Roma
nell’anno 559 di sua fondazione dal pretore Sempronio Libone;
questi avendo stabilito il proprio tribunale presso tale monumento,
divenne codesto il punto di riunione degli oratori, ed avendone i suoi
successori imitato l’esempio, puteale divenne ben presto sinonimo di
tribunale.
È curioso che anche nella mia Milano, ne’ tempi scorsi e fino al
nostro secolo, si avessero a raccogliere intorno al Pozzo di Piazza
Mercanti legulei e faccendieri legali, a trattazione d’affari ed a
ricevimento di volgari clienti, sì che avesse poi ad invalere nel
comune linguaggio l’ingiuria a cattivo o tristo avvocato di chiamarlo
avvocato del pozzo. Oggi invece il nostro Pozzo di Piazza Mercanti è
modesto convegno de’ poveri fattorini di piazza.
Tempio di Cerere.