Abstract
This project investigates how coastal lagoons—environments characterized by high biodiversity and several natural resources—were used, settled, and exploited in Roman Italy. It addresses a debated topic in ancient studies, i.e. what role lagoons had in the settlement hierarchy and economy, and uses as case study the northern area of the Venetian lagoon and the archaeological site of Lio Piccolo. While today several lagoons are protected natural habitats, only rarely are their rich cultural and historic heritage and the added value awareness of this heritage could offer to modern local communities recognized. The case study area was chosen because of the good archaeological and paleoenvironmental data arising from the Ca’ Foscari ongoing archaeological investigations, the availability, in the Altino Museum, of unpublished fishing implements, and the need to offer to the local communities a more complete reconstruction of their cultural heritage, which in turn may contribute to new modes of sustainable tourism. The case study will also offer the opportunity to assess the degree of continuity between past and present in the case of activities centred on this lagoonal landscape. This project aims to bring a new approach to the study of lagoons in Roman time, focusing on their socio-economic role and environmental context, thus bridging the gaps between subdisciplines.
Results achieved
The Bologna Research Unit has met the core research goals defined at the start of the project; the unit has: 1. conducted an in-depth analysis of the ancient literary, legal and historiographical sources related to Roman fishing, aquaculture, and use of natural resources from wetlands, and has compared these with archaeological data; 2. highlighted that key lagoonal environments of Roman Italy and the provinces were settled with villas and farms devoted to both agriculture and the exploitation of the resources offered by the lagoons; 3. conducted a detailed assessment of the fishing assemblage in the collection of the Altino Museum consisting of more than 300 items, discounting 50 artefacts with incomplete or erroneous descriptions as not related to ancient fishing practices. The objects were photographed and illustrated, and a typological classification for fishhooks was developed; 4. concluded a comparative study of neighbouring lagoon sites, adding quantified material from Lio Piccolo and Ca’ Zane and producing detailed descriptions to integrate these assemblages with Altino 5. carried out an ethnographic investigation of traditional lagoon fisheries, combining cataloguing of methods, structured interviews, equipment assessment, and analysis of how environmental conditions shape fishing practices. 6. developed an environmental classification model for fishery zones, identifying ecosystem parameters, species biotas, and proposing lagoon partitions that explain both traditional fishery distributions and archaeological signatures. 7. Engaged with the local stakeholders and disseminated to a wider audience the interim results of the project by co-organizing an exhibition at Cavallino Treporti 8. Engaged critically with the scientific community via the participation at conferences and the organization of an international conference held at the University of Bologna in autumn 2025, in which the two projects research units have presented the results of the project. 9. The final outputs of the project—an edited volume in English under contract with Archeopress and a monograph--are in the editing phase.Project details
Unibo Team Leader: Annalisa Marzano
Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Storia Culture Civiltà
Coordinator:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 265.511,00
Total Unibo Contribution: Euro (EUR) 143.836,00
Project Duration in months: 24
Start Date:
30/11/2023
End Date:
28/02/2026
