Architravi scolpiti del XII secolo a Piacenza

Il saggio è dedicato all’analisi stilistica e iconografica di alcuni architravi scolpiti che ornano i portali delle chiese di Piacenza, una delle località più vivaci nel panorama artistico nord-italiano del XII secolo. L’eredità delle opere realizzate per la cattedrale cittadina dalla bottega di Nicholaus riecheggia nei rilievi delle chiese di San Matteo, Sant’Ilario e dell’inedito portale di Santo Stefano. Attraverso lo studio delle testimonianze storiche superstiti, il confronto con opere del medesimo periodo e contesto e una rinnovata attenzione per i contenuti iconografici, l’intento del saggio è quello di dimostrare la portata simbolica delle raffigurazioni ospitate sugli architravi. Un’attenzione particolare è riservata alla inusuale iconografia dell’Incredulità di san Tommaso presente sul portale della chiesa di Sant’Ilario. Il tentativo di rilettura delle iscrizioni e l’inquadramento di tale opera nel contesto socio-culturale della Piacenza di tardo XII secolo permette di formulare nuove ipotesi sulla connessione tra scelte iconografiche, istanze di rinnovamento spirituale della società e rituali liturgici, sottesa alla realizzazione di sculture che ornano significativamente le porte di accesso ai luoghi sacri, vie di salvezza per i fedeli penitenti.

Persistent Scatterer Interferometry and Statistical Analysis of Time-Series for Landslide Monitoring: Application to Santo Stefano d’Aveto (Liguria, NW Italy)

Landslides are a major threat for population and urban areas. Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) is a powerful tool for identifying landslides and monitoring their evolution over long periods and has proven to be very useful especially in urban areas, where a sufficient number of PS can be generated. In this study, we applied PS interferometry to investigate the landslide affecting Santo Stefano d’Aveto (Liguria, NW Italy) by integrating classic interferometric techniques with cross-correlation analysis of PS time-series and with geological and geotechnical field information. We used open-source software and packages to process Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite for both ascending and descending orbits over the period 2015–2021 and calculate both the vertical motion and the E-W horizontal displacement. By computing the cross-correlation of the PS time-series, we identified three families of PS with a similarity greater than 0.70. The cross-correlation analysis allowed subdividing the landslide in different sectors, each of which is characterized by a specific type of movement. The geological meaning of this subdivision is still a matter of discussion but it is presumably driven by the geomorphological setting of the area and by the regional tectonics.

Study on the Ecological Situation and the Nursery Function of the Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile, 1813 Prairies on the Islands of Ventotene e Santo Stefano

On behalf of the Management of the Protected Marine Area of the island of Ventotene and Santo Stefano the Marine Ecology and Biology Institute of Piombino (ITALY) carried out a very in dept study aimed at knowledge of the ecological situation of the Posidonia Oceanica (L.) Delile, 1813 meadows. The most appropriate methodologies were used to be able to identify all the benthic species present in order to evaluate the efficiency of the nursery function of the prairies investigated. The results of the numerous species captured in the juvenile stage have demonstrated the excellent nursery function of the meadows of the island of Ventotene.

India nel quattrocento: Fifteenth-Century Italian Travel Writings on India

Fifteenth-century Italian travel narratives on India by Nicolò dei Conti and Gerolamo di Santo Stefano present a detailed account of the India they visited, following the narrative tradition of the Italian Marco Polo. These narratives of the Renaissance were published as descriptive authorial texts of travellers to the East. Their importance was due to the authors’ detailed first-hand experiences of the societies and cultures that they encountered, as well as the various trade centres of the period. These narratives were utilised by merchants, explorers, and Jesuits for a variety of purposes. The narratives of Nicolò dei Conti and Gerolamo di Santo Stefano thus became indispensable tools that were later distorted through numerous translations to suit the politics of Orientalism for the emerging colonial enterprises. In my paper, I have attempted a re-reading of the particular texts to identify how Italy saw India, while illustrating through their history of publication the transformation that these narratives underwent later in order to objectify India in the West through the lens of Orientalism in their manner of representation.

Importance of soil science in the European Green Deal : Congress inauguration statement

This is the Congress inauguration statement of Professor Carmelo Dazzi (President of the European Society for Soil Conservation) to the international conference “Sustainable Management of Cultural Landscapes in the context of the European Green Deal”, held in Santo Stefano di Camastra (Sicily, Italy) jointly organized by the European Society for Soil Conservation and the European Ecocycles Society on November 9-14, 2021.

New, regenerative approaches to sustainability : Redefining ecosystem functions, environmental management, and heritage conservation

The international conference “Sustainable Management of Cultural Landscapes in the context of the European Green Deal”, held in Santo Stefano di Camastra (Sicily, Italy) on November 9-14, 2021. aimed to shed light on those environmental, social, economic, and cultural problems of interactions between humankind and its natural environment, which cannot be answered through one single discipline but only by applying a multidisciplinary system approach, built on applied Earth System Science intimately interwoven with social sciences, economics and heritage science. The structure of the Congress mirrored this concept since the overlapping areas of sessions encouraged interdisciplinary thinking and practical approach to the key issues of regional development such as ecosystem protection, green infrastructures, sustainable and multifunctional agriculture, circular economy, renewable energy, regeneration, and conservation of natural environments and conservation of cultural heritage.

Il digitale e la rappresentazione: la seconda linea e il castello dimenticato di Fiumedinisi

Digital and representation: the second line and the forgotten castle of FiumedinisiThe Belvedere Castle of Fiumedinisi (ME) belongs to that historical heritage of Sicily characterized by abandoned and forgotten military architecture. Along the Ionian coast the defensive problem has been particularly felt over time, due to the proximity of the Turkish coast, the Middle East and the African one. The first defensive line was the coastal one, defined by principals placed on the sea in a strategic position for direct control of the coast. They were part of this group: the Maniace castle of Syracuse, that of Augusta, of Brucoli, of Catania, of Acicastello, the Tocco of Acireale, Schisò in the territory of Giardini, Capo Sant'Alessio, the Saracen Tower of Roccalumera, Capo Grosso in Ali , San Salvatore in Messina. Along the eastern side of the Peloritani mountains from Calatabiano to Messina, the island's defensive strategy also included a second line of fortifications, which controlled a more distant horizon from their position. These include the castle of Calatabiano, Taormina, Castelmola, Forza d’Agrò, Savoca, Fiumedinisi, Scaletta Zanclea, Santo Stefano di Briga, Matagrifone. Among them, the Belvedere castle of Fiumedinisi, at a critical distance from the village, so as to be in a state of neglect, among those listed is that which is in the worst conditions. In stark contrast to the dignity and history of the site and territory of Fiumedinisi, dating back to the Greek period. In this work we propose the survey of the castle with digital, photogrammetric technologies, Structure From Motion (SFM) and dense matching, to arrive at a 3D documentation and graphic drawings, considering that to date there are no significant scientific surveys and representations of this abandoned fortress.

Revealing Mithras’ Color with the ICVBC Mobile Lab in the Museum

The National Museum of Rome has an important collection of Mithraic sculptures found in the years 1973–1975 during the archaeological excavation under the early Christian basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo on the Caelian hill in Rome. The sculptures excavated from this Mithraeum show many traces of gilding and polychromy, whose best example is the great bas-relief with Mithras slaying the bull discussed in this work. The analysis was conducted during a scientific campaign in the museum with portable instrumentation of the Institute for Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, ICVBC mobile laboratory following a completely non-invasive approach. By means of a protocol based on the use of multispectral imaging, microscopy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), this study allowed to better understand the technique used and to make comparisons with other representations of Mithras slaying the bull.