B9221 - Environment, Communities, and Landscapes of Medieval Italy (LM)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

By the end of the course, students will have acquired up-to-date knowledge of the main phenomena characterizing the archaeology of settlements and environment in medieval Italy, with comparisons to other European and Mediterranean regions. They will be familiar with the key methodological approaches of contemporary research and will be able to assess the reliability of the data presented, while recognizing its limitations. Students will also gain a general understanding of the evolution of settlement patterns and environmental transformations during the Middle Ages across various geographic contexts. By learning about the different methodological approaches used in contemporary research, students will develop the skills necessary to independently plan further studies or fieldwork, beginning with the appropriate methodological approach and research questions.

Contenuti

The course will present a series of research topics and processes through which the history and archaeology of Italian medieval landscapes will be explored and compared with those of other regions in medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. To address this subject effectively, the course will also examine key methods and approaches in landscape archaeology and historical research.

Topics covered include:

• Archaeology, history, and medieval landscapes: methods and approaches

• Medieval fortifications and castles

• Villages and other medieval rural settlements

• Uncultivated and agrarian landscapes

• Late antique and medieval urban landscapes

• New towns and other medieval secondary settlements

• Churches, monastic landscapes, and deserta

• Archaeology of rural lords and peasant communities

• Medieval Italy: comparative landscapes of the north, center, and south

• Italy in comparison with the eastern and western Mediterranean, and northern and southern Europe

Testi/Bibliografia

The bibliography below lists the most relevant works discussed throughout the course. Readings will be introduced at the beginning of the course, and a detailed bibliography will be provided in the syllabus available on virtuale.unibo.it.

Main Reference Works

• Graham-Campbell, James, and Magdalena Valor. The Archaeology of Medieval Europe. Vol. 1. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 2008, pp. 46–180, 316–365.

• Carver, Martin, and Jan Klápště, eds. The Archaeology of Medieval Europe. Vol. 2. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 2011, pp. 15–48; 97–106; 230–243; 370–408; 490–493; 494–511.

• Patterson, Helen, Graeme Barker, and Tom Rasmussen. “Incastellamento and Its Aftermath: Medieval and Modern Landscapes, c. AD 700 to the Present.” In In the Footsteps of the Etruscans: Changing Landscapes around Tuscania from Prehistory to Modernity, edited by Graeme Barker and Tom Rasmussen, 246–277. British School at Rome Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Other References

Castles, Villages, Rural Settlements, Aristocracy, and Peasantry

• Arthur, Paul. “From Vicus to Village: Italian Landscapes, AD 400–1000.” In Landscapes of Change. Routledge, 2004.

• Arthur, Paul. “Villages, Communities, Landscapes in the Byzantine and Medieval Salento.” In Paesaggi, Comunità, Villaggi Medievali, 547–564, 2012.

• Creighton, Oliver. “Castle Studies and the European Medieval Landscape: Traditions, Trends and Future Research Directions.” Landscape History 30, no. 2 (2009): 5–20.

• Ghisleni, Mariaelena, et al. “Excavating the Roman Peasant I: Excavations at Pievina (Gr).” Papers of the British School at Rome 79 (2011): 95–145.

• Guglielmotti, Paola. “Villenove e Borghi Franchi: Esperienze Di Ricerca e Problemi Di Metodo.” Archivio Storico Italiano 166, no. 1 (2008): 79–96.

• Hodges, Richard. “Defining the Archaeology of Bloch’s First Feudal Age: Implications of Vetricella Phases I and II for the Making of Medieval Italy (8th–9th Centuries).” In The nEU-Med Project: Vetricella, an Early Medieval Royal Property on Tuscany’s Mediterranean, edited by Giovanna Bianchi and Richard Hodges, 169–181. Biblioteca Di Archaeologia Medievale 28. Sesto Fiorentino: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2020.

Churches, Monastic Landscapes, and Deserta

• Augenti, Andrea, and Enrico Cirelli. “San Severo and Religious Life in Ravenna during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries.” In Ravenna: Its Role in Earlier Medieval Change and Exchange, 297–322, 2016.

• Brogiolo, Gian Pietro. “Architecture and Power at the End of the Lombard Kingdom.” In Churches and Social Power in Early Medieval Europe, 451–472, 2015.

• Pasquali, Gianfranco. “Economia e Paesaggio Rurale Di ‘Deserta’ Alle Porte Di Ravenna: L’isola Litoranea Di Palazzolo Dal VI al XIV Secolo.” Atti e Memorie Della Regia Deputazione Di Storia Patria per Le Provincie Di Romagna 34 (1983): 131–161. Hard copy available at Unibo libraries.

• Roubis, Dimitris, et al. “Exploiting a Monastic Territory: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach Using GIS and Pollen Analysis to Study the Evolution of the Medieval Landscape of the Jure Vetere Monastery (Calabria-Italy).” In Plants and Culture. Seeds of the Cultural Heritage of Europe, 107–120, 2009.

Forests, Uncultivated, and Agrarian Landscapes

• Abballe, Michele, Marco Cavalazzi, and Celeste Fiorotto. “Integrated Approaches to Understanding Complex Long-Term Reclamation Processes in the Hinterland of Ravenna (Italy).” Journal of Wetland Archaeology 31 (2022).

• Burri, Sylvain. “Reflections on the Concept of Marginal Landscape through a Study of Late Medieval Incultum in Provence (South-Eastern France).” PCA: European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies 6 (2014): 7–38.

• Comet, Georges. “Technology and Agricultural Expansion in the Middle Ages: The Example of France North of the Loire.” In Medieval Farming and Technology, 11–39, 1997.

• Curtis, Daniel R., and Michele Campopiano. “Medieval Land Reclamation and the Creation of New Societies: Comparing Holland and the Po Valley, c. 800–c. 1500.” Journal of Historical Geography 44 (2014): 93–108.

• Groenman-van Waateringe, Willy. “Wasteland: Buffer in the Medieval Economy.” Actes des Congrès de la Société d’Archéologie Médiévale 5, no. 1 (1996): 113–117.

Urban Landscapes

• Augenti, Andrea. “A Tale of Two Cities: Rome and Ravenna between the 7th and 9th Century AD.” In 774: Ipotesi Su Una Transizione, 175–198, 2008.

• Augenti, Andrea. “Classe: Archaeologies of a Lost City.” In Vrbes Extinctae. Archaeologies of Abandoned Classical Towns, 45–76, 2012.

• Brogiolo, Gian Pietro. “Ideas of the Town in Italy during the Transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.” In The Idea and Ideal of the Town, 99–126, 1999.

• Christie, Neil J. “From Royalty to Refugees: Looking for the People in Reconstructing Urban Change in Late Antique Italy.” In Urban Transformations in the Late Antique West. Materials, Agents, and Models, 323–350, 2020.

• Gelichi, Sauro. “From the Late Antique City to the Early Medieval Town in Central and Northern Italy: Models and Narratives from Debates over the Last Thirty Years.” In Urban Transformations in the Late Antique West. Materials, Agents, and Models, 45–60, 2020.

Metodi didattici

The course is organised with frontal lessons and seminars.

Periodically, the class will include a one-hour seminar dedicated to discussing the topics covered in the lectures. During these seminars, students will engage with selected scholarly readings from the bibliography listed above. Participation in these sessions is strongly recommended, as they form an integral part of both the teaching and the assessment process.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

For attending students, assessment will include:
a) regular attendance and active participation in seminar sessions;
b) a 20-minute presentation, to be agreed upon with the instructor during the course;
c) an oral exam and a final written essay, the topic of which must be approved by the course organizer.

The essay must be submitted via email to the course organizer at least 10 days before the scheduled exam date.

The oral exam will cover:

• the topic of the student’s written essay;

• the main reference works (Graham-Campbell et al. 2008 – specified sections or Carver et al. 2011 – specified sections, and Patterson et al. 2023);

• the lecture presentations.

For further details, please consult the syllabus on Virtuale.

For non-attending students, the final assessment will consist of:
a) an oral exam;
b) a 20-minute oral presentation and a final written paper;
c) the required readings for the oral exam must be agreed upon in advance with the instructor.

 

Attending and non-attending students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible ( https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Exam Schedule:

The following exam dates are scheduled for the first semester and until mid-second semester of the academic year 2025/26:

• October 8, 2025

• November 26, 2025

• December 16, 2025

• January 14, 2026

• February 11, 2026

• March 18, 2026

For any questions or specific needs, please contact the instructor via email.

 

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Lectures will be delivered using PowerPoint presentations, which will be made available on the Virtuale platform.

Students who require specific services or adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD) are advised to contact the appropriate support office in advance: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Marco Cavalazzi