Cividate offers a unique example in Valcamonica of a  well-known symbol which belongs to different religions of the oriental civilization, the Greek-Roman culture and to Christianity.
Some of the most interesting examples of this symbol in Lombardy are in Cividate. Two of them date back to the Roman times and one to the Renaissance
The oldest symbols are in Spinera, in the mosaic floor of Minerva's shrine (I century AD)
And in the mosaic of a building near the thermae (II century AD)two ritual places which testify the high value of this symbol during the Roman times.
It represents the archetypal symbol of alliance and union which joins two dimensions the human and the divine, the high and the low, the earth life and the gods in a harmonious and indissoluble way.
Solomon's knot with its quadrilobate strucrture refers to the cross, the swastika, the ring and it  alludes to the real significance such as the division of the four elements (earth, water, air, fire), of the space ( the cardinal points), of the time (the cycle of the seasons) all in a figure which signifies unity and harmony ( circular shape and swastika inside it) hinged on the central point 'coincidentia oppositorum', that is to say the Divinity.
 The Roman ruins in Cividate expresses such solemnity as they are located in the cell of Minerva's temple which was probably built on the remains of a temple of the Iron Age.
The mosaic floor, on which were marble 'arule' with ex-voto inscriptions, is full of symbolic elements of the Roman age, such as: aquatic, Dionysiac, auspicious dolphins, leaves of ivy (evergreen which symbolizes Dionysiac eternity), wavy, chequered and cross-shaped motives and 22 Knots, the most represented symbol which seems to allude to the link with the Goddess 'medica e sanatrix'.
Other important elements are  the curative waters near the temple, thermal waters represented on the floor, which in the town of Berzo have an iscription 'fantibus divinis'. Such symbolic meaning might be attributed to the other mosaic with knots, brought to light in a place near the Thermae of Cividate: here again we find leaves of ivy and it is in relation to an 'arula' consacrated to Isis (mosaic shown at the museum of Cividate).
Other remains of the Roman times are in the town of Piancogno with a series of knots carved on the rock near the stick-figure anthropomorphs, daggers, and a maze: here the tone is less aulic but important to understand the popularity and the value of such symbol in this area.
Of recent date is the knot we find in St.Maria dell'Ospedale in the town of Malegno near Cividate: here it appears carved at the base of a very damaged fresco dated to XIV century, probably showing the image of the 'Madonna della Misericordia', and on one side the written name of the author or a devotee: Petrus.
This is one of the best examples of the knot as Marian symbol. We can find it in many places in Valcamonica (Madonna col Bambino by Pietro da Cemmo at St. Siro church in Capodiponte and St. Maria in Silvis in Pisogne), and we can make a comparison with painters such as: Giotto, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Foppa, Perugino, Piero della Francesca and some miniaturists.
In these cases the knot in the image of the Virgin Mary with her Child puts in evidence the divine tie which represents.
With regard to ‘Madonna della Misericordia’, the symbol points out the protective link with the believers and maybe with Petrus, too.
The remains of the Romans and of Late Medieval times in Cividate are important to understand the history of the symbol and they are certainly the most significant traces in the history of Cividate.