Vedere l'invisibile nel visibile. Ri-velazioni nel paesaggio svedese/ Seeing the invisible in the visible. Re- velations in the Swedish landscape

“In these Nordic lands of Scandinavia (...) pagan elements are seen as, in the literal sense of the word, ‘fundamental’ terrible or benign presences, opposing the human order that they stalk from all directions. It is something that our minds can come to terms with providing we do not lose the ability to see the invisible in the visible”1. With this words Marguerite Yourcenar explains the symbolic dimension dominating the narrative structure in Selma Lagerlöf’s novels, celebrated Swedish writer, and 1909 Nobel Prize literary winner for the ‘spiritual perception’ element that distinguishes her works. Equally the same words can serve to describe the intense plotlines comprising of classical phrases and Biblically inspired figures, littered throughout the thick Nordic forest characterizing the sublime landscape of Stockholm’s Skogskyrkogården (Woodland Cemetery).