The central parsecs of active galactic nuclei: challenges to the torus
  Type 2 AGN are by definition nuclei in which the broad-line region and
continuum light are hidden at optical/UV wavelengths by dust. Via accurate
registration of infrared (IR) Very Large Telescope adaptive optics images with
optical \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} images we unambiguously identify the
precise location of the nucleus of a sample of nearby, type 2 AGN. Dust
extinction maps of the central few kpc of these galaxies are constructed from
optical-IR colour images, which allow tracing the dust morphology at scales of
few pc. In almost all cases, the IR nucleus is shifted by several tens of pc
from the optical peak and its location is behind a dust filament, prompting to
this being a major, if not the only, cause of the nucleus obscuration. These
nuclear dust lanes have extinctions $A_V \geq 3-6$ mag, sufficient to at least
hide the low-luminosity AGN class, and in some cases are observed to connect
with kpc-scale dust structures, suggesting that these are the nuclear fueling
channels. A precise location of the ionised gas H$\alpha$ and
[\textsc{Si\,vii}] 2.48 $\mu$m coronal emission lines relative to those of the
IR nucleus and dust is determined. The H$\alpha$ peak emission is often shifted
from the nucleus location and its sometimes conical morphology appears not to
be caused by a nuclear --torus-- collimation but to be strictly defined by the
morphology of the nuclear dust lanes. Conversely, [\textsc{Si\,vii}] 2.48
$\mu$m emission, less subjected to dust extinction, reflects the truly, rather
isotropic, distribution of the ionised gas. All together, the precise location
of the dust, ionised gas and nucleus is found compelling enough to cast doubts
on the universality of the pc-scale torus and supports its vanishing in
low-luminosity AGN. Finally, we provide the most accurate position of the NGC
1068 nucleus, located at the South vertex of cloud B.
