Images Patera of Parabiago. Silver incised with gold, IV century A.D. Found in Parabiago, Italy

One of the most precious items of the archaeological museum in Milan is the patera of Parabiago, a big plate dedicated to the cult of the goddess Cybele, of oriental origin. The plate pictures goddess Cybele and her mortal lover Attis at the centre of a cosmogony map, with symbols of life, death and rebirth. This ritual object is especially valuable since it belongs to a time where pagan cults, as the ones dedicated to Cybele or Mitra, coexisted with the rising Christian religion.