Description
The path started in 1994 with the excavation of the early medieval village of Sant'Agata Bolognese finds its fulfillment in this publication which collects the complex interdisciplinary studies conducted in recent years on the entire settlement which is still considered one of the most important sites in Northern Italy. .
It was a very long but also very fruitful journey: after completing the excavation conducted under the scientific direction of Dr. Nicoletta Giordani, then an archaeologist officer of the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Emilia Romagna, and Prof. Sauro Gelichi, then Professor of Medieval Archeology at the University of Pisa, a series of initiatives have taken place that have led to a full enhancement of the settlement, including the events for "Bologna - European Capital of Culture" in 2000, the archaeological exhibition "Vivere in the Middle Ages - A fortified village of the 2003th century in the Po Valley "in 2004, which showed the archaeological materials to the public for the first time and constituted the fundamental premise for the subsequent museum building, which then took place in May XNUMX with the inauguration of the Archaeological Museum Environment of San Giovanni in Persiceto.
The excavation methodologies applied have made it possible to highlight in detail the importance and chronological complexity of the settlement, highlighting its strong links with the surrounding area, as shown by the contribution of dr. Cremonini on written sources highlighting the settlement, political, patrimonial and social structures of the area where the village was located. The studies carried out on materials (ceramics, soapstone, metal objects, millstones, fusaiole, glass, etc.) denote a high standard of living and a dense commercial network both at a regional and national level. The environmental analyzes have provided a photograph of a strongly anthropized territory with a developed agriculture and the use of wood as an indispensable raw material for the life of the village.
We can therefore say that this publication puts a point in a long journey that began almost twenty years ago. However, this should not be considered a point of arrival, but the beginning of a path of awareness through which the importance of the interaction of a cultural asset with its territory emerges, as an essential condition for a full enhancement of the asset itself. The excavation, the studies, the museumization and the publication have proved to be integral stages of a virtuous path that we hope will become an example.
Marco Edoardo Minoja, Superintendent for the Archaeological Heritage of Emilia Romagna
In collaboration with SAMI, Società degli Archeologi Medievisti Italiani
