ARCHEOLOGIA E ICONOGRAFIA CRISTIANA E MEDIEVALE

The course consists of two modules. Module A (Prof. Lucia Arcifa) aims to provide basic knowledge on Christian and medieval archeology and the main themes of archaeological research; to reflect on the methods of construction of the archaeological sources and on the complexity of the processes of historical reconstruction starting from the use of archaeological sources compared to documentary sources.

Module B (Prof. Giulia Arcidiacono) aims to illustrate the genesis, historical development and different aspects of the cult of sacred images from early Christianity to the Middle Ages. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between iconographic themes, textual sources and historical context.

 Among the specific objectives, the course aims to make students acquire:

 - basic knowledge on the main monumental contexts, on the architectural heritage, on the themes of figurative culture in relation to the development and organization of Christian communities and the phenomena of transformation from late antiquity to the Middle Ages;

- the ability to analyze and comment independently and critically on artworks, monuments and historical phenomena, by using the appropriate vocabulary;

- the ability to highlight the close relationship between figurative images, their material support, the sacred place in which they are expressed and the textual and doctrinal sources that are at their origin;

- the ability to place monuments and figurative arts in the appropriate space-time frame and to identify their relationships with social dynamics and religious needs.

MODULO A (prof.ssa Lucia Arcifa)

1.                  Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages: periodisation, historiographic debate and historical profile

2.                  Christian and medieval archaeology: history of studies and perspectives of research in Italy

3.                  Archaeology and material culture: the construction of archaeological data

4.                  The formal language of late antiquity. The birth of an Early Christian art.

5.                  Christian cemeteries. Development of the catacombs. The cult of the martyrs

6.                  From the domus ecclesiae to the Christian basilica

7.                  The civitas christiana: urban transformations between the Late Antique and the High Middle Ages.

8.                  Early Christian and Byzantine Syracuse: from cemeteries to holy shrines

MODULO A (prof.ssa Lucia Arcifa)

Methodology and historical debat

1-3.V. Fiocchi Nicolai, Archeologia medievale e archeologia cristiana: due discipline a confronto, in S. Gelichi, Quarant’anni di Archeologia medievale in Italia, numero speciale di Archeologia Medievale 2014, pp. 21-31.   

Early Christian Art (paintings, sculptures)

4. R. Bianchi Bandinelli, Roma. La fine dell’arte antica, Milano 1970, pp. 1- 83.

Catacombs

5. V. Fiocchi Nicolai, Origini e sviluppo delle catacombe romane, in V. Fiocchi Nicolai, F. Bisconti, D. Mazzoleni, Le catacombe cristiane di Roma. Origini, sviluppo, apparati decorativi, documentazione epigrafica, Regesburg 1998, pp. 6-69

Archtecture

6. A. Chavarria Arnau, Archeologia  delle chiese. Dalle origini all’anno Mille, Roma 2014, pp. 11-153

Early Christian and Byzantine Syracuse: from cemeteries to holy shrines

7-8. M. Sgarlata, Dai cimiteri ai luoghi santi . Le trasformazioni del suburbio siracusano, in G. Volpe-R. Giuliani, Paesaggi e insediamenti urbano in Italia meridionale fra tardo antico e alto medioevo, Atti del

Secondo Seminario sul Tardoantico e l’Altomedioevo in Italia meridionale (Foggia – Monte Sant’Angelo 27-28 maggio 2006), Bari 2010, pp. 253-271.

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.