Lo specchio e la spada

The article focuses on the function of ‘mimesis’ in Ernesto De Martino’s thought. The author pays special attention to techniques of reintegration of the ‘crisis of presence’ which seems to esthetically reproduce some features of crisis herself. According to De Martino the performative aspects that structures ritual imitation are intertwined with the psychological and symbolic function played by iteration. Although scholars have often pointed out the conservative side of this connection, the article tries to highlight the cultural creativity it implies instead. By commenting selected pages, we try to clarify the Demartinian idea of mimetic practices in dialogue with other, similar but different ones, namely mimicry, copy and fiction.