Pittura, luce, colore, Atti del IV Colloquio AIRPA (Urbino 17-19 giugno 2021), 2023
The investigations on the site of the San Marco farm, in the San Giovanni area of the island of E... more The investigations on the site of the San Marco farm, in the San Giovanni area of the island of Elba, started in 2012 in collaboration with the Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Pisa and Livorno. Archaeological excavations have brought to light a villa built in the second half of the 2nd century BC, almost exclusively in mud-bricks and destroyed in the 1st century AD by a fire that ensured the survival of the structures by “baking” them. The villa had a pars fructuaria on the lower floor, while the upper floor was reserved for residential purposes, with lavishly decorated rooms facing the sea. In particular, the collapsed fragments in room IX belonged to a paneled decoration with a white balustrade on a black background in imitation of marble barriers, widely attested as parapets of buildings or garden fences
The archaeological site on the hilltop of Sant'Andrea, midway between Campodimele and Itri, has b... more The archaeological site on the hilltop of Sant'Andrea, midway between Campodimele and Itri, has been recently located by the mean of the presence of the remaining of a surrounding wall and other structures. It is located very close to the mountain pass of San Nicola, allowing the site to keep a strict control on the main communication routes crossing through the inner region of the Monti Aurunci, especially on those connecting the Liri Valley and the coast of Southern Latium. The excavations started in July 2022 aimed to provide chronological and typological elements to identify the nature of the settlement. A single area (Area 1000) at the southeastern corner of the surrounding wall has been delimited for the excavation in order to find a reliable stratigraphya condition made difficult by the erosive phenomena characterizing the geology of the region. The results from the first excavation campaign have allowed to identify the presence of several phases of abandonment and frequentation the settlement in the latest centuries of the early Middle Ages, when the presence of a stable settlement is suggested by the abundance of materials from this period. On the other hand, the occasional finding of more ancient materials from the latest contexts (as they ran-off from other contexts on the top of the hill) may support the hypothesis that older phases for the site are present and still to be investigated. The hilltop settlement of Sant'Andrea represents an important case study for regional and local phenomena, such as the "encastellation" of southern Latium as well as the study of settlement patterns and other historical issues concerning the territory of the Duchy of Gaeta, of which the settlement of Sant'Andrea was part as it was also the nearby castle of Campello.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 533, 2022
The monumental Roman building known as the Roman Villa delle Grotte, in the bay of Portoferraio, ... more The monumental Roman building known as the Roman Villa delle Grotte, in the bay of Portoferraio, on the Island of Elba, has been the subject of numerous researches since 1700. Initially interpreted as one of the luxurious villae maritimae that dotted the islands of the Tuscan archipelago, built by noble exponents of the aristocratic classes of Rome for rest and recreation, has been the subject of a profound re-examination for some years. Some elements seem to confirm the interpretation of the building as a large palace residence perhaps belonging to the powerful Valerii family, who had properties and interests on the island and on the coast in front. Others, in particular the large number of rooms characterized by waterproofing coatings and water pipes, suggest that it was, before a villa, a monumental preparation in which water was the central element: a large castellum aquarum with a sanctuary in the center? A large hortus comparable to those that were set up in the city in those same decades? The building was built at the end of the 1st century BC. and used until the end of the 1st century AD.
Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, 2021
This contribution offers a perspective on the intimate link that is established between theory, p... more This contribution offers a perspective on the intimate link that is established between theory, practice and results in the field of contemporary Landscape Archeology. With particular reference to the Anglo-Saxon and Mediterranean academic tradition, the discourse aims to investigate the specific way in which the adoption of broad categories and methodological procedures is key to reading the real and ideal Landscape. This analysis highlights how the many different interpretations of the Landscape represent the reflection of the type of questions pertaining to the context of a specific cultural background. I will pay particular attention to the phenomenological approach that seems to cannibalize the debate. Ultimately, I argues for a vision of landscape as a place of asymmetrical relations between human and non-human that cannot be done justice from too strong a phenomenological or materialistic perspective. Even the neo-materialistic collapse of subject and object must be tempered ...
Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa Classe di Lettere e Filosofia Supplemento, 2018
Le indagini nel sito di San Giovanni si sono avviate nel 2012, in collaborazione con la Soprinten... more Le indagini nel sito di San Giovanni si sono avviate nel 2012, in collaborazione con la Soprintendenza Archeologia della Toscana e con i proprietari del terreno, la famiglia Gasparri, sensibile ai temi di carattere storico-archeologico inerenti la rada di Portoferraio e molto disponibile verso le esigenze della ricerca. Il sito si trova nell’estremità Est della pianura costiera di Portoferraio, ai piedi del promontorio su cui sorge la villa romana delle Grotte, fondata nella seconda metà del I sec. a.C. e abbandonata nella seconda metà del I sec. d.C., della quale rimangono i cospicui resti relativi alla parte residenziale che si affaccia sul mare.
Il presente libro racconta, attraverso diversi approcci, l’evoluzione delle economie di mercato e... more Il presente libro racconta, attraverso diversi approcci, l’evoluzione delle economie di mercato e di sussistenza della Provincia di Siena, concentrando l’attenzione in particolare nel corso del I millennio dopo Cristo, ma che prosegue per alcuni aspetti anche al Basso Medioevo e all’Età Moderna. Lo studio è basato sui sistemi insediativi, dall’Età Romana all’Alto Medioevo, che hanno interessato il territorio provinciale, con particolare riferimento all’applicazione del cosiddetto Modello Toscano; sul ruolo delle arterie stradali terrestri e delle idrovie e sulla loro evoluzione nella suddetta cronologia; sui sistemi commerciali e produttivi della ceramica, adottando una analisi dei networks; sui modi, le pratiche e le tecniche agricole altomedievali nella val di Merse; sullo sfruttamento del suolo in alcuni contesti campione dall’entroterra alla costa; sul flusso di greggi e di uomini dagli appennini alle aree pianeggianti e climaticamente miti della provincia di Grosseto. L’approccio multi scalare basato su fonti diversificate è il collante del presente studio, che ha come obiettivo la costruzione di un modello di economie integrate su un territorio, come la Provincia di Siena, caratterizzato da dinamiche complesse ma dotato di un “alto tasso di Ricerca Archeologica”.
Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, 2015
The paper presents a project related to the study of transhumance's paths and pastures in Sou... more The paper presents a project related to the study of transhumance's paths and pastures in Southern Tuscany in a long-term perspective, from Prehistory to the Modern Age, in collaboration with the Ecole francaise of Rome. TRATTO is the first project focused on the features of Tuscan transhumance as paths and pasturages with a cross-disciplinary approach (geographers, archaeologists and historians) and using a strong GIS structure for analyses and data-gathering. The information from literature, primary and cartographic sources, material culture, paleoenvironmental data will be integrated in a unique system and analyzed through different procedures,including predicting and postdicting analyses. The aim is reconstructing the transhumance's paths and the grazing land use in some case-study areas, understanding and explaining its different factors of influence and their role in the formation of territorial identities and landscape. The project is at its early stage, consequently ...
Transhumance has been practiced in the Mediterranean basin since prehistoric times; it is a means... more Transhumance has been practiced in the Mediterranean basin since prehistoric times; it is a means of economic exploitation and a factor in social organization. The trajectory of pastoralist activities in antiquity has long been a matter of debate that has affected researchers' methodological approaches. Pastoralism has always been considered a highly mobile practice. Models of pastoralism have usually assumed implicitly or explicitly that ancient herders are mostly invisible archaeologically because they had highly mobile lives. This has generated an epistemologically hiatus in terms of archaeological narratives between periods with written sources about agro-pastoral activities and those where these kinds of data are rare. In central Italy, as in others contexts, the micro-perspective on agro-pastoralist activities has been largely ignored along with the assumption of integrated land-use practices. This article will try to analyse, from the perspective of the Landscape Archaeol...
En esta contribución se ofrece una perspectiva sobre el vínculo íntimo que se establece entre la ... more En esta contribución se ofrece una perspectiva sobre el vínculo íntimo que se establece entre la teoría, la práctica y los resultados en el campo de la Arqueología del Paisaje contemporánea. Con particular referencia al mundo anglosajón y mediterráneo, se analiza la manera específica en que la adopción de amplias categorías de procedimientos resulta clave para la lectura y después para el juicio. También se incluye una breve descripción de las premisas teóricas que, de manera más o menos explícita, guían y condicionan la investigación actual. En este análisis se pone de relieve cómo las muchas y diferentes interpretaciones del Paisaje representan el reflejo del tipo de preguntas pertenecientes al contexto de una investigación específica. Prestaremos especial atención al enfoque fenomenológico que parece canibalizar el debate. También se propondrá una nueva herramienta heurística para investigar paisajes.
This paper wants to explore the possibility to consider some peculiar deities and their attribute... more This paper wants to explore the possibility to consider some peculiar deities and their attributes for reconstructing the natural environment and the economic activities practiced within it. In other words if it is possible to write an economic history of agro-sylvo-pastoral activities from the point the view of deities functions, because they do not represent a mere religious superstructures. In order to do this I will consider a peculiar cult of Selvans, attested mainly in the Etruscan and Early Republican period, who could enlighten through the sacred landscape some particular economic practices. Several authors have associated this deity to the agrarian activities and consequently the God has been seen as the protector of the fields. Our hypothesis is that the attribute that he holds in the right hand in the common iconography must be interpreted as a pruning hook notoriously used by shepherds to cut branches for fodder.
This paper illustrates the results of the third archaeological season that took place at the late... more This paper illustrates the results of the third archaeological season that took place at the late Etruscan and Republican site of Podere Cannicci in the territory of Civitella Paganico (Grosseto, Italy). Excavations revealed new features of the settlement, allowing researchers to consolidate the idea that Podere Cannicci was a Roman vicus gravitating around a sanctuary area; the latter was focused on fertility cults as a number of votive offerings were collected during the previous investigations. The research concentrated on two different areas: the first one showed the existence of other rooms belonging to the original Republican building while, as the excavation areas were enlarged, a second rural complex was discovered , with a possible wine cellar still preserving dolia in situ. Trial trenches were also opened in the surroundings of the main site to better understand the nature of the site and its possible developments into the Imperial period.
The hotel in the Caldanelle of Petriolo between the XIV and XVIII centuries. A contribution to th... more The hotel in the Caldanelle of Petriolo between the XIV and XVIII centuries. A contribution to the archeology of thermalism in the senese area . The archaeological investigations conducted on the Caldanelle site (Civitella Paganico, Grosseto) and undertaken by the Odysseus Association in 2018-2019, brought to light a rather complex settlement, whose purpose was to host travelers and swimmers who went there to benefit from the healing properties of the nearby thermal springs. These thermal baths are mentioned in some written reports of the fortification work on the site, promoted by Donosdeo Malavolti, Bishop of Siena, in the first half of the XIV century. The excavation campaigns led to the identification of four rooms, probably used for hosting the bathers, dating back to a period between the late XV century and the XVI century. The site was reportedly in use until the XVIII century. However, the stratigraphy of the elevations reveals the presence of fourteenth-century elements, which include the basement part of the outer walls with a door that was eventually closed off by an intentional action. Further investigations will better inform us about the division of spaces and the first stages of the foundation of the site.
This paper presents the preliminary results of the second excavation season (May-June 2018) at th... more This paper presents the preliminary results of the second excavation season (May-June 2018) at the archaeological site of Podere Cannicci (Civitella Paganico-GR). The season aimed to enlarge the excavation area after the discovery of a number of rooms related to a previously exposed building that was the focus of 2 years of excavations by the Soprintendenza (1989-1990). At least three other rooms were recognized in 2018: two of them clearly present markers of production connected to metalworking activities and pottery kilns; a third room is interpreted, instead, as a possible open space. The finds show that the complex at Podere Cannicci was used between the 3 rd and the 1 st c. BC before being abandoned after a violent fire, possibly related to the Social War. The paper also describes the results of the geophysical campaign that took place in June 2018, which allowed for the identification of a number of buildings in an area of circa 8 ha in the neighborhood of the main excavation site.
In the late Roman Republic period (2nd-1st century BC), in the area of San Giovanni on Elba Islan... more In the late Roman Republic period (2nd-1st century BC), in the area of San Giovanni on Elba Island, previously subject to intense extraction of iron core, a rustic villa facing the sea was established by Marco Valerio Messalla, a supreme Roman magistrate. This is a summary report of the excavations of the villa run untill the 2018 season, including palynological, anthropological and stratigraphical analysis, together with a complete study of coins and main ceramic assemblage.
Pittura, luce, colore, Atti del IV Colloquio AIRPA (Urbino 17-19 giugno 2021), 2023
The investigations on the site of the San Marco farm, in the San Giovanni area of the island of E... more The investigations on the site of the San Marco farm, in the San Giovanni area of the island of Elba, started in 2012 in collaboration with the Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Pisa and Livorno. Archaeological excavations have brought to light a villa built in the second half of the 2nd century BC, almost exclusively in mud-bricks and destroyed in the 1st century AD by a fire that ensured the survival of the structures by “baking” them. The villa had a pars fructuaria on the lower floor, while the upper floor was reserved for residential purposes, with lavishly decorated rooms facing the sea. In particular, the collapsed fragments in room IX belonged to a paneled decoration with a white balustrade on a black background in imitation of marble barriers, widely attested as parapets of buildings or garden fences
The archaeological site on the hilltop of Sant'Andrea, midway between Campodimele and Itri, has b... more The archaeological site on the hilltop of Sant'Andrea, midway between Campodimele and Itri, has been recently located by the mean of the presence of the remaining of a surrounding wall and other structures. It is located very close to the mountain pass of San Nicola, allowing the site to keep a strict control on the main communication routes crossing through the inner region of the Monti Aurunci, especially on those connecting the Liri Valley and the coast of Southern Latium. The excavations started in July 2022 aimed to provide chronological and typological elements to identify the nature of the settlement. A single area (Area 1000) at the southeastern corner of the surrounding wall has been delimited for the excavation in order to find a reliable stratigraphya condition made difficult by the erosive phenomena characterizing the geology of the region. The results from the first excavation campaign have allowed to identify the presence of several phases of abandonment and frequentation the settlement in the latest centuries of the early Middle Ages, when the presence of a stable settlement is suggested by the abundance of materials from this period. On the other hand, the occasional finding of more ancient materials from the latest contexts (as they ran-off from other contexts on the top of the hill) may support the hypothesis that older phases for the site are present and still to be investigated. The hilltop settlement of Sant'Andrea represents an important case study for regional and local phenomena, such as the "encastellation" of southern Latium as well as the study of settlement patterns and other historical issues concerning the territory of the Duchy of Gaeta, of which the settlement of Sant'Andrea was part as it was also the nearby castle of Campello.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 533, 2022
The monumental Roman building known as the Roman Villa delle Grotte, in the bay of Portoferraio, ... more The monumental Roman building known as the Roman Villa delle Grotte, in the bay of Portoferraio, on the Island of Elba, has been the subject of numerous researches since 1700. Initially interpreted as one of the luxurious villae maritimae that dotted the islands of the Tuscan archipelago, built by noble exponents of the aristocratic classes of Rome for rest and recreation, has been the subject of a profound re-examination for some years. Some elements seem to confirm the interpretation of the building as a large palace residence perhaps belonging to the powerful Valerii family, who had properties and interests on the island and on the coast in front. Others, in particular the large number of rooms characterized by waterproofing coatings and water pipes, suggest that it was, before a villa, a monumental preparation in which water was the central element: a large castellum aquarum with a sanctuary in the center? A large hortus comparable to those that were set up in the city in those same decades? The building was built at the end of the 1st century BC. and used until the end of the 1st century AD.
Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, 2021
This contribution offers a perspective on the intimate link that is established between theory, p... more This contribution offers a perspective on the intimate link that is established between theory, practice and results in the field of contemporary Landscape Archeology. With particular reference to the Anglo-Saxon and Mediterranean academic tradition, the discourse aims to investigate the specific way in which the adoption of broad categories and methodological procedures is key to reading the real and ideal Landscape. This analysis highlights how the many different interpretations of the Landscape represent the reflection of the type of questions pertaining to the context of a specific cultural background. I will pay particular attention to the phenomenological approach that seems to cannibalize the debate. Ultimately, I argues for a vision of landscape as a place of asymmetrical relations between human and non-human that cannot be done justice from too strong a phenomenological or materialistic perspective. Even the neo-materialistic collapse of subject and object must be tempered ...
Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa Classe di Lettere e Filosofia Supplemento, 2018
Le indagini nel sito di San Giovanni si sono avviate nel 2012, in collaborazione con la Soprinten... more Le indagini nel sito di San Giovanni si sono avviate nel 2012, in collaborazione con la Soprintendenza Archeologia della Toscana e con i proprietari del terreno, la famiglia Gasparri, sensibile ai temi di carattere storico-archeologico inerenti la rada di Portoferraio e molto disponibile verso le esigenze della ricerca. Il sito si trova nell’estremità Est della pianura costiera di Portoferraio, ai piedi del promontorio su cui sorge la villa romana delle Grotte, fondata nella seconda metà del I sec. a.C. e abbandonata nella seconda metà del I sec. d.C., della quale rimangono i cospicui resti relativi alla parte residenziale che si affaccia sul mare.
Il presente libro racconta, attraverso diversi approcci, l’evoluzione delle economie di mercato e... more Il presente libro racconta, attraverso diversi approcci, l’evoluzione delle economie di mercato e di sussistenza della Provincia di Siena, concentrando l’attenzione in particolare nel corso del I millennio dopo Cristo, ma che prosegue per alcuni aspetti anche al Basso Medioevo e all’Età Moderna. Lo studio è basato sui sistemi insediativi, dall’Età Romana all’Alto Medioevo, che hanno interessato il territorio provinciale, con particolare riferimento all’applicazione del cosiddetto Modello Toscano; sul ruolo delle arterie stradali terrestri e delle idrovie e sulla loro evoluzione nella suddetta cronologia; sui sistemi commerciali e produttivi della ceramica, adottando una analisi dei networks; sui modi, le pratiche e le tecniche agricole altomedievali nella val di Merse; sullo sfruttamento del suolo in alcuni contesti campione dall’entroterra alla costa; sul flusso di greggi e di uomini dagli appennini alle aree pianeggianti e climaticamente miti della provincia di Grosseto. L’approccio multi scalare basato su fonti diversificate è il collante del presente studio, che ha come obiettivo la costruzione di un modello di economie integrate su un territorio, come la Provincia di Siena, caratterizzato da dinamiche complesse ma dotato di un “alto tasso di Ricerca Archeologica”.
Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, 2015
The paper presents a project related to the study of transhumance's paths and pastures in Sou... more The paper presents a project related to the study of transhumance's paths and pastures in Southern Tuscany in a long-term perspective, from Prehistory to the Modern Age, in collaboration with the Ecole francaise of Rome. TRATTO is the first project focused on the features of Tuscan transhumance as paths and pasturages with a cross-disciplinary approach (geographers, archaeologists and historians) and using a strong GIS structure for analyses and data-gathering. The information from literature, primary and cartographic sources, material culture, paleoenvironmental data will be integrated in a unique system and analyzed through different procedures,including predicting and postdicting analyses. The aim is reconstructing the transhumance's paths and the grazing land use in some case-study areas, understanding and explaining its different factors of influence and their role in the formation of territorial identities and landscape. The project is at its early stage, consequently ...
Transhumance has been practiced in the Mediterranean basin since prehistoric times; it is a means... more Transhumance has been practiced in the Mediterranean basin since prehistoric times; it is a means of economic exploitation and a factor in social organization. The trajectory of pastoralist activities in antiquity has long been a matter of debate that has affected researchers' methodological approaches. Pastoralism has always been considered a highly mobile practice. Models of pastoralism have usually assumed implicitly or explicitly that ancient herders are mostly invisible archaeologically because they had highly mobile lives. This has generated an epistemologically hiatus in terms of archaeological narratives between periods with written sources about agro-pastoral activities and those where these kinds of data are rare. In central Italy, as in others contexts, the micro-perspective on agro-pastoralist activities has been largely ignored along with the assumption of integrated land-use practices. This article will try to analyse, from the perspective of the Landscape Archaeol...
En esta contribución se ofrece una perspectiva sobre el vínculo íntimo que se establece entre la ... more En esta contribución se ofrece una perspectiva sobre el vínculo íntimo que se establece entre la teoría, la práctica y los resultados en el campo de la Arqueología del Paisaje contemporánea. Con particular referencia al mundo anglosajón y mediterráneo, se analiza la manera específica en que la adopción de amplias categorías de procedimientos resulta clave para la lectura y después para el juicio. También se incluye una breve descripción de las premisas teóricas que, de manera más o menos explícita, guían y condicionan la investigación actual. En este análisis se pone de relieve cómo las muchas y diferentes interpretaciones del Paisaje representan el reflejo del tipo de preguntas pertenecientes al contexto de una investigación específica. Prestaremos especial atención al enfoque fenomenológico que parece canibalizar el debate. También se propondrá una nueva herramienta heurística para investigar paisajes.
This paper wants to explore the possibility to consider some peculiar deities and their attribute... more This paper wants to explore the possibility to consider some peculiar deities and their attributes for reconstructing the natural environment and the economic activities practiced within it. In other words if it is possible to write an economic history of agro-sylvo-pastoral activities from the point the view of deities functions, because they do not represent a mere religious superstructures. In order to do this I will consider a peculiar cult of Selvans, attested mainly in the Etruscan and Early Republican period, who could enlighten through the sacred landscape some particular economic practices. Several authors have associated this deity to the agrarian activities and consequently the God has been seen as the protector of the fields. Our hypothesis is that the attribute that he holds in the right hand in the common iconography must be interpreted as a pruning hook notoriously used by shepherds to cut branches for fodder.
This paper illustrates the results of the third archaeological season that took place at the late... more This paper illustrates the results of the third archaeological season that took place at the late Etruscan and Republican site of Podere Cannicci in the territory of Civitella Paganico (Grosseto, Italy). Excavations revealed new features of the settlement, allowing researchers to consolidate the idea that Podere Cannicci was a Roman vicus gravitating around a sanctuary area; the latter was focused on fertility cults as a number of votive offerings were collected during the previous investigations. The research concentrated on two different areas: the first one showed the existence of other rooms belonging to the original Republican building while, as the excavation areas were enlarged, a second rural complex was discovered , with a possible wine cellar still preserving dolia in situ. Trial trenches were also opened in the surroundings of the main site to better understand the nature of the site and its possible developments into the Imperial period.
The hotel in the Caldanelle of Petriolo between the XIV and XVIII centuries. A contribution to th... more The hotel in the Caldanelle of Petriolo between the XIV and XVIII centuries. A contribution to the archeology of thermalism in the senese area . The archaeological investigations conducted on the Caldanelle site (Civitella Paganico, Grosseto) and undertaken by the Odysseus Association in 2018-2019, brought to light a rather complex settlement, whose purpose was to host travelers and swimmers who went there to benefit from the healing properties of the nearby thermal springs. These thermal baths are mentioned in some written reports of the fortification work on the site, promoted by Donosdeo Malavolti, Bishop of Siena, in the first half of the XIV century. The excavation campaigns led to the identification of four rooms, probably used for hosting the bathers, dating back to a period between the late XV century and the XVI century. The site was reportedly in use until the XVIII century. However, the stratigraphy of the elevations reveals the presence of fourteenth-century elements, which include the basement part of the outer walls with a door that was eventually closed off by an intentional action. Further investigations will better inform us about the division of spaces and the first stages of the foundation of the site.
This paper presents the preliminary results of the second excavation season (May-June 2018) at th... more This paper presents the preliminary results of the second excavation season (May-June 2018) at the archaeological site of Podere Cannicci (Civitella Paganico-GR). The season aimed to enlarge the excavation area after the discovery of a number of rooms related to a previously exposed building that was the focus of 2 years of excavations by the Soprintendenza (1989-1990). At least three other rooms were recognized in 2018: two of them clearly present markers of production connected to metalworking activities and pottery kilns; a third room is interpreted, instead, as a possible open space. The finds show that the complex at Podere Cannicci was used between the 3 rd and the 1 st c. BC before being abandoned after a violent fire, possibly related to the Social War. The paper also describes the results of the geophysical campaign that took place in June 2018, which allowed for the identification of a number of buildings in an area of circa 8 ha in the neighborhood of the main excavation site.
In the late Roman Republic period (2nd-1st century BC), in the area of San Giovanni on Elba Islan... more In the late Roman Republic period (2nd-1st century BC), in the area of San Giovanni on Elba Island, previously subject to intense extraction of iron core, a rustic villa facing the sea was established by Marco Valerio Messalla, a supreme Roman magistrate. This is a summary report of the excavations of the villa run untill the 2018 season, including palynological, anthropological and stratigraphical analysis, together with a complete study of coins and main ceramic assemblage.
Il presente libro racconta, attraverso diversi approcci, l’evoluzione delle economie di mercato e... more Il presente libro racconta, attraverso diversi approcci, l’evoluzione delle economie di mercato e di sussistenza della Provincia di Siena, concentrando l’attenzione in particolare nel corso del I millennio dopo Cristo, ma che prosegue per alcuni aspetti anche al Basso Medioevo e all’Età Moderna. Lo studio è basato sui sistemi insediativi, dall’Età Romana all’Alto Medioevo, che hanno interessato il territorio provinciale, con particolare riferimento all’applicazione del cosiddetto Modello Toscano; sul ruolo delle arterie stradali terrestri e delle idrovie e sulla loro evoluzione nella suddetta cronologia; sui sistemi commerciali e produttivi della ceramica, adottando una analisi dei networks; sui modi, le pratiche e le tecniche agricole altomedievali nella val di Merse; sullo sfruttamento del suolo in alcuni contesti campione dall’entroterra alla costa; sul flusso di greggi e di uomini dagli appennini alle aree pianeggianti e climaticamente miti della provincia di Grosseto. L’approccio multi scalare basato su fonti diversificate è il collante del presente studio, che ha come obiettivo la costruzione di un modello di economie integrate su un territorio, come la Provincia di Siena, caratterizzato da dinamiche complesse ma dotato di un “alto tasso di Ricerca Archeologica”.
The Monti Aurunci Project seeks to investigate, archaeologically, historically and geologically, ... more The Monti Aurunci Project seeks to investigate, archaeologically, historically and geologically, the region of the Monti Aurunci, situated in southern Lazio (central Italy) between the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Historically the Monti Aurunci represents a decisive geographical marker, a zone of contact, and an interface between different ethnic, socio-political and economic entities. Geologically speaking, the Aurunci mountains represent the SW-termination of the Lepini-Ausoni-Aurunci ridge, which is the innermost sector of the Central Apennines (i.e., the closest to the Tyrrhenian Sea). Given the absence of any systematic and substantial archaeological investigations for this area, especially in consideration of nearby heavily studied contexts such as the Pontine Plain, the Liri valley or Minturno to the south. A Comprehensive dataset is one of our primary concerns and will be central to our scientific purposes. In this communication we present some preliminary results from the first archaeological survey of the alluvial plain of the Piana del Campo and the first archaeological campaign in the medieval settlement of Sant’Andrea.
In matter of pastoralism, great prominence has been given to long-distance transhumance especiall... more In matter of pastoralism, great prominence has been given to long-distance transhumance especially between the Appennines and the coastal plains. Little or no interest has been paid to local or short transhumance, or to farm-based pasturage. Archaeologically speaking, pastoral practices have been always considered highly mobile, and virtually impossible to identify in the archaeological record. The present case-studies thus diverts from the traditional image of pastoralism by overturning the mountains-to-plain centered perspective and by promoting the point of view of integrated agro-sylvo-pastoral practice, in the light of the particular historical phenomenon of transhumance in central coastal Italy (Maremma).
From this perspective the landscape is not only a reified concept but is an active complex palimpsest of interactions produced by natural and human activities in time and space. Around the 14th-15th century the establishment of customs organizations for managing the large-scale transhumance (the so called Dogana dei Paschi of the commune of Siena), creates new spaces of interaction for common land, where several modes of exploitation co-exist.
The assumption of the present work is that the transhumance is part of a wider agro-sylvo-pastoral system.
Within this system natural resources serve as impulse for mobility, which can see manifested in the landscape by a peculiar archaeological record. Ethnoarcheological and historical data show us the decisive role played by a marginal zone in the history of post-classical transhumance in the region. The humid zones, the lagoons and marshes reflect a pattern of instability within mobility and seasonality are key concepts for understanding such socio-economic phenomena.
Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, 2015
The paper presents a project related to the study of transhumance's paths and pastures in Souther... more The paper presents a project related to the study of transhumance's paths and pastures in Southern Tuscany in a long-term perspective, from Prehistory to the Modern Age, in collaboration with the École française of Rome. TRATTO is the first project focused on the features of Tuscan transhumance as paths and pasturages with a cross-disciplinary approach (geographers, archaeologists and historians) and using a strong GIS structure for analyses and data-gathering. The information from literature, primary and cartographic sources, material culture, paleoenvironmental data will be integrated in a unique system and analyzed through different procedures,including predicting and postdicting analyses. The aim is reconstructing the transhumance's paths and the grazing land use in some case-study areas, understanding and explaining its different factors of influence and their role in the formation of territorial identities and landscape. The project is at its early stage, consequently we focus on critical questions and methodological problems necessary to carry on our goals.
Common salt (sodium chloride) is an invisible object for archaeological research, but the ancient... more Common salt (sodium chloride) is an invisible object for archaeological research, but the ancient texts, the history, the ethnography and our everyday life confirm that both Man and Animal cannot live without it. Salt is a primordial reference for humanity. This “fifth element” is universal in a double sense, diachronically and diatopically. How can archaeology and related disciplines or sciences approximate this soluble good, this “white gold”, this invisible past?
From the diatopic and diachronic perspective, common salt—with all its natural or artificial metamorphoses—has influenced humanity in the most diverse aspects. This is why, within a brief enumeration, the salt-related research themes are intriguingly various: explorations (hunting for salt), exploitation techniques, techniques to obtain different products, exploitation and use tools, transport and storage containers, human and animal feeding, conservation (meat, bacon, cheese, vegetables, green goods, fruits). The themes also include manufacture-related uses (including the construction of salt houses), mythology, religion, cult, rituals, beliefs, superstitions, mentalities, secret societies, magic, vows, curses, prohibitions, popular medicine, sexuality, economy, hide working, population, alchemical procedures, scientific and cultural representations, treatment of the deceased, barter, commerce, contraband, robbery.
On the other hand, the themes also include human and animal mobility, the attraction exerted on savage beasts, symbolic uses, folk literature (stories, tales, and proverbs) and cult literature, the control of salt resources, conflicts, strategic value, geographic perceptions, professions related to salt exploitation and uses, economic, legal and administrative regulations, vocabulary, toponymy, anthroponomy and the list can go on.
All these themes already constitute a study object for an impressive number of sciences, disciplines, or sub-disciplines, such as archaeology, heritage studies, history, ethnography, ethnoarchaeology, economic anthropology, food sciences, statistics, sociology, geology, mineralogy, geography, hydrology, botany, chemistry, medicine, pharmacology, ethology, theology, agronomy, symbology, linguistics, folklore studies, cultural studies, literary studies, hermeneutics, legal sciences, etc. Obviously, some themes must be approached only in an interdisciplinary vision.
2 Years Post-doc Position at the University of Siena.
DREAMLAND. Archeology and History in the El... more 2 Years Post-doc Position at the University of Siena. DREAMLAND. Archeology and History in the Elba Island
Dear colleagues,
We are glad to invite you the attend the “Second International Congress on the... more Dear colleagues,
We are glad to invite you the attend the “Second International Congress on the Anthropology of Salt”, organized between the 12th and 16th of October 2017 in Los Cabos, Mexico — http://saluniversalis.com
Themes — http://saluniversalis.com/themes Presentations are invited on any of the following open themes: Salt and Gastronomy, Salt and Medicine, Shamanism, magic, esoterism and witchcraft, Art and salt, Tourism and salt, Religion Rituals and salt, Ecotourism and salt, Salt and science, Salt, astronomy and NASA, Economy and salt, History and salt, Prehistory and salt, Lexicon and vocabulary of salt, Toponymy, Literature and salt, Salt inheritance, Archaeology and salt, Salt, Art rock and petroglyphs, Sal and technology, Health and medicine, Salt and industry, Salt and ancient costumes, Salt and indigenous culture, Salt and university education, Salt palaeontology, Salt and artcraft, Salt and environment, Microbial carpets and salt, Salt and biology, Salt and geology, Salt, beauty, cosmetics and make up, Cinema, music and arts of salt, Photography and salt, Salt and tanning leather, The Encyclopedia of Salt, etc.
Key dates — http://saluniversalis.com/important-dates – session/workshops proposals submission: 1 January–31 March 2017 – session/workshops proposals: notification of acceptance: 1–16 April 2017 – individual contribution: submission: 17 April–31 July 2017 – individual contribution: notification of acceptance: 1–10 July 2017
Please print and share this call with anyone who might be interested in attending, and this includes not only anthropologists and archaeologists, but also historians, geographers, linguists, etc. You can find more information on the event on its dedicated webpage: http://saluniversalis.com
The session focuses on the groups and individuals that were outside the privileged parts of socie... more The session focuses on the groups and individuals that were outside the privileged parts of society, in the position of systemic limitation of social power and agency. The character of the material traces left by the socially marginalized additionally hampers insight into their existences. While elites regularly articulated their power and positions also through monumentality, luxury and rare items, conspicuous modes of consumption, and highly visible performative behaviour, the underprivileged ones did not leave such easily recognized and publicly codified material traces of their actions. This perpetuates insufficient professional and public interest in and knowledge of marginalized social categories, in turn creating a flawed and incomplete perception of the past. The processes of accretion and disaggregation around the emergence and collapse of power structures across Europe (such as the Roman Empire), can be observed well through the lens of marginality. Marginal structures - and landscapes - change rapidly, collapse but just as quickly reconstitute themselves in a new relational conformation, or disappear completely, in a continuous discontinuity. Paradoxically, it is through the monopoly of marginality that societies guarantee for themselves the economic or military control of a socio-economic conformation. And it is only by understanding these peripheral spaces and the practices and choices taken by the communities that occupied them that one can understand the complex structuring of social places. To recompose the brokenness between those marginal landscapes and contemporary societies, this call for papers aims to stimulate a debate around the social dynamics of the construction of significant marginalised spaces in the context of strong power relationships.
From Corruption to Connection and Back
New Archaeological Insights in the Mediterranean Seascape
... more From Corruption to Connection and Back New Archaeological Insights in the Mediterranean Seascape
Organizers: Prof. Alessandro Sebastiani (University at Buffalo, SUNY - USA) and Dr. Edoardo Vanni (University of Siena - ITALY)
Session Theme: Mediterranean Seascape
The Mediterranean has been a place of connectivity and mobility of people throughout all the ages. However, during economic crisis and migration period, this seascape has also been the lieu of political conflicts and geographical limitations. As contemporary facts highlight, mobility (and its related connectivity) has been questioned by the recent crisis of Europe together with the geopolitical instability of those countries facing the Mediterranean. In order to retrieve a sense of resilience, we as archaeologists, have to contribute through an analysis of historical migration processes, the mobility of goods and interconnectivity of social cultures. This session aims to collect a series of reflections about the Mediterranean as a peculiar space of interactions in terms of politics, economies and social communities. Contributions focusing on the connectivity and mobility across the Iron Age to late Medieval Mediterranean are welcome. Particularly, we welcome papers inherent to these topics: i) Historical migration processes; ii) Material cross-cultural interaction; iii) Material and social integration in the Mediterranean; iv) Trans-maritime and cabotage movements; v) Resilient approaches to connectivity; vi) Interconnectivity among rivers, sea, and islands; vii) Ecological changes in relationship with mobility across the Mediterranean.
It is anticipated that the maximum number of accepted papers will be 14.
Edoardo Vanni, Economie senza gloria. Sistemi agro-silvo-pastorali nell'Etruria settentrionale costiera in una prospettiva di lunga durata, 2021
Il volume esplora le ‘economie senza gloria’, tradizionalmente trascurate dalle grandi narrazioni... more Il volume esplora le ‘economie senza gloria’, tradizionalmente trascurate dalle grandi narrazioni dell’archeologia globale. Attraverso un approccio interdisciplinare, che integra metodi e linguaggi settoriali rimasti separati per decenni, Edoardo Vanni indaga i sistemi agro-silvo-pastorali nel comprensorio dell’Etruria settentrionale costiera, dimostrando come le cosiddette economie marginali siano in realtà parte essenziale di un complesso sistema di pratiche e interazioni tra le comunità umane e l’ambiente, tra cultura e natura.
From an ecological point of view, the Paglia River Valley constitutes a coherent and well-defined... more From an ecological point of view, the Paglia River Valley constitutes a coherent and well-defined territory with distinctive characteristics of an extraordinary micro-environmental variety. The River Paglia flows from west to east and its valley is located between the volcanic Mount Amiata to the west, Mounts Cetona, Rufeno and Peglia to the north, the Tiber valley to the east and the Vulsini volcanic complex to the south. Starting from the Bronze Age, the Paglia Valley has always represented a privileged space for mobility and a liminal interface between different cultural, economic, and political spaces. With the rise of the proto-state entities of Etruria, the control of this territory located between Southern Etruria and Internal Northern Etruria became of strategic importance. The marginal nature of the Paglia Valley, both economically, geographically, and politically, has not prevented the development of complex and enduring forms of human occupation, especially along axes of mobility of extraordinary structuring capacity, and very different from each other, such as the Via Cassia and the Via Francigena. The importance of the Paglia corridor as an ecological and historical interface has only partially appeared in archaeological literature over the past decades. Moreover, the Paglia Valley is divided among different administrative entities - Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio - and research conducted so far on this area has been often characterized by different methodological traditions. Therefore, we are missing a comprehensive understanding of the archaeological record and landscape transformations of the area between the spring of the River Paglia and the merge with the Tiber. The goal of this conference is to move beyond the fragmentation of previous research, allowing for new questions while rereading old data, focusing on different and more complete historical interpretations. We expect paper proposals that will address historical, archaeological, methodological and landscape studies focused on both banks of the River Paglia. Papers presenting previously unpublished contexts and contributions dealing with cultural mediation issues of the archaeological heritage along the Paglia Valley are particularly welcomed. The conference will be published into a peer-reviewed thematic volume.
This conference presents the preliminary results of the ongoing excavation and related research a... more This conference presents the preliminary results of the ongoing excavation and related research at the site of San Casciano dei Bagni in Tuscany. Here in 2022 we have uncovered an intact votive deposits with hundreds of bronze ex votes dating between Etruscan and Roman times
Uploads
Papers by Edoardo Vanni
in collaboration with the Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Pisa and
Livorno. Archaeological excavations have brought to light a villa built in the second half of the 2nd century BC, almost
exclusively in mud-bricks and destroyed in the 1st century AD by a fire that ensured the survival of the structures by
“baking” them. The villa had a pars fructuaria on the lower floor, while the upper floor was reserved for residential
purposes, with lavishly decorated rooms facing the sea. In particular, the collapsed fragments in room IX belonged to
a paneled decoration with a white balustrade on a black background in imitation of marble barriers, widely attested
as parapets of buildings or garden fences
Il sito si trova nell’estremità Est della pianura costiera di Portoferraio, ai piedi del promontorio su cui sorge la villa romana delle Grotte, fondata nella seconda metà del I sec. a.C. e abbandonata nella seconda metà del I sec. d.C., della quale rimangono i cospicui resti relativi alla parte residenziale che si affaccia sul mare.
in collaboration with the Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Pisa and
Livorno. Archaeological excavations have brought to light a villa built in the second half of the 2nd century BC, almost
exclusively in mud-bricks and destroyed in the 1st century AD by a fire that ensured the survival of the structures by
“baking” them. The villa had a pars fructuaria on the lower floor, while the upper floor was reserved for residential
purposes, with lavishly decorated rooms facing the sea. In particular, the collapsed fragments in room IX belonged to
a paneled decoration with a white balustrade on a black background in imitation of marble barriers, widely attested
as parapets of buildings or garden fences
Il sito si trova nell’estremità Est della pianura costiera di Portoferraio, ai piedi del promontorio su cui sorge la villa romana delle Grotte, fondata nella seconda metà del I sec. a.C. e abbandonata nella seconda metà del I sec. d.C., della quale rimangono i cospicui resti relativi alla parte residenziale che si affaccia sul mare.
The present case-studies thus diverts from the traditional image of pastoralism by overturning the mountains-to-plain centered perspective and by promoting the point of view of integrated agro-sylvo-pastoral practice, in the light of the particular historical phenomenon of transhumance in central coastal Italy (Maremma).
From this perspective the landscape is not only a reified concept but is an active complex palimpsest of interactions produced by natural and human activities in time and space. Around the 14th-15th century the establishment of customs organizations for managing the large-scale transhumance (the so called Dogana dei Paschi of the commune of Siena), creates new spaces of interaction for common land, where several modes of exploitation co-exist.
The assumption of the present work is that the transhumance is part of a wider agro-sylvo-pastoral system.
Within this system natural resources serve as impulse for mobility, which can see manifested in the landscape by a peculiar archaeological record. Ethnoarcheological and historical data show us the decisive role played by a marginal zone in the history of post-classical transhumance in the region. The humid zones, the lagoons and marshes reflect a pattern of instability within mobility and seasonality are key concepts for understanding such socio-economic phenomena.
From the diatopic and diachronic perspective, common salt—with all its natural or artificial metamorphoses—has influenced humanity in the most diverse aspects. This is why, within a brief enumeration, the salt-related research themes are intriguingly various: explorations (hunting for salt), exploitation techniques, techniques to obtain different products, exploitation and use tools, transport and storage containers, human and animal feeding, conservation (meat, bacon, cheese, vegetables, green goods, fruits). The themes also include manufacture-related uses (including the construction of salt houses), mythology, religion, cult, rituals, beliefs, superstitions, mentalities, secret societies, magic, vows, curses, prohibitions, popular medicine, sexuality, economy, hide working, population, alchemical procedures, scientific and cultural representations, treatment of the deceased, barter, commerce, contraband, robbery.
On the other hand, the themes also include human and animal mobility, the attraction exerted on savage beasts, symbolic uses, folk literature (stories, tales, and proverbs) and cult literature, the control of salt resources, conflicts, strategic value, geographic perceptions, professions related to salt exploitation and uses, economic, legal and administrative regulations, vocabulary, toponymy, anthroponomy and the list can go on.
All these themes already constitute a study object for an impressive number of sciences, disciplines, or sub-disciplines, such as archaeology, heritage studies, history, ethnography, ethnoarchaeology, economic anthropology, food sciences, statistics, sociology, geology, mineralogy, geography, hydrology, botany, chemistry, medicine, pharmacology, ethology, theology, agronomy, symbology, linguistics, folklore studies, cultural studies, literary studies, hermeneutics, legal sciences, etc. Obviously, some themes must be approached only in an interdisciplinary vision.
DREAMLAND. Archeology and History in the Elba Island
We are glad to invite you the attend the “Second International Congress on the Anthropology of Salt”, organized between the 12th and 16th of October 2017 in Los Cabos, Mexico — http://saluniversalis.com
Themes — http://saluniversalis.com/themes
Presentations are invited on any of the following open themes: Salt and Gastronomy, Salt and Medicine, Shamanism, magic, esoterism and witchcraft, Art and salt, Tourism and salt, Religion Rituals and salt, Ecotourism and salt, Salt and science, Salt, astronomy and NASA, Economy and salt, History and salt, Prehistory and salt, Lexicon and vocabulary of salt, Toponymy, Literature and salt, Salt inheritance, Archaeology and salt, Salt, Art rock and petroglyphs, Sal and technology, Health and medicine, Salt and industry, Salt and ancient costumes, Salt and indigenous culture, Salt and university education, Salt palaeontology, Salt and artcraft, Salt and environment, Microbial carpets and salt, Salt and biology, Salt and geology, Salt, beauty, cosmetics and make up, Cinema, music and arts of salt, Photography and salt, Salt and tanning leather, The Encyclopedia of Salt, etc.
Key dates — http://saluniversalis.com/important-dates
– session/workshops proposals submission: 1 January–31 March 2017
– session/workshops proposals: notification of acceptance: 1–16 April 2017
– individual contribution: submission: 17 April–31 July 2017
– individual contribution: notification of acceptance: 1–10 July 2017
Please print and share this call with anyone who might be interested in attending, and this includes not only anthropologists and archaeologists, but also historians, geographers, linguists, etc. You can find more information on the event on its dedicated webpage: http://saluniversalis.com
The Organizing Committee
New Archaeological Insights in the Mediterranean Seascape
Call for Papers
https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2018/
Session #738
Organizers: Prof. Alessandro Sebastiani (University at Buffalo, SUNY - USA) and Dr. Edoardo Vanni (University of Siena - ITALY)
Session Theme: Mediterranean Seascape
The Mediterranean has been a place of connectivity and mobility of people throughout all the ages. However, during economic crisis and migration period, this seascape has also been the lieu of political conflicts and geographical limitations. As contemporary facts highlight, mobility (and its related connectivity) has been questioned by the recent crisis of Europe together with the geopolitical instability of those countries facing the Mediterranean. In order to retrieve a sense of resilience, we as archaeologists, have to contribute through an analysis of historical migration processes, the mobility of goods and interconnectivity of social cultures.
This session aims to collect a series of reflections about the Mediterranean as a peculiar space of interactions in terms of politics, economies and social communities. Contributions focusing on the connectivity and mobility across the Iron Age to late Medieval Mediterranean are welcome. Particularly, we welcome papers inherent to these topics: i) Historical migration processes; ii) Material cross-cultural interaction; iii) Material and social integration in the Mediterranean; iv) Trans-maritime and cabotage movements; v) Resilient approaches to connectivity; vi) Interconnectivity among rivers, sea, and islands; vii) Ecological changes in relationship with mobility across the Mediterranean.
It is anticipated that the maximum number of accepted papers will be 14.
Submit your abstract by February 15, 2018
https://eaa.klinkhamergroup.com/eaa2018/
Bronze Age, the Paglia Valley has always represented a privileged space for mobility and a liminal interface between different cultural, economic, and political spaces. With the rise of the proto-state entities of Etruria, the
control of this territory located between Southern Etruria and Internal Northern Etruria became of strategic importance. The marginal nature of the Paglia Valley, both economically, geographically, and politically, has
not prevented the development of complex and enduring forms of human occupation, especially along axes of mobility of extraordinary structuring capacity, and very different from each other, such as the Via Cassia and
the Via Francigena. The importance of the Paglia corridor as an ecological and historical interface has only partially appeared in archaeological literature over the past decades. Moreover, the Paglia Valley is divided
among different administrative entities - Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio - and research conducted so far on this area has been often characterized by different methodological traditions. Therefore, we are missing a
comprehensive understanding of the archaeological record and landscape transformations of the area between the spring of the River Paglia and the merge with the Tiber. The goal of this conference is to move beyond the fragmentation of previous research, allowing for new questions while rereading old data, focusing on different and more complete historical interpretations. We expect paper proposals that will address historical, archaeological, methodological and landscape studies focused on both banks of the River Paglia. Papers presenting previously unpublished contexts and contributions dealing with cultural mediation issues of the archaeological heritage along the Paglia Valley are particularly
welcomed. The conference will be published into a peer-reviewed thematic volume.