SAMI Award, 2022 call.

Ottone d'Assia and Riccardo Francovich Award - for the best early work in medieval archeology


Call 2022

La Società degli Archeologi Medievisti Italiani, in consultation with the Publisher All’Insegna del Giglio, to remember the figure of the illustrious scholars Otto of Hesse e Richard Francovich and to promote the development and enhancement of the discipline, announces an Annual Award to be conferred on a young researcher, consisting in the publication of an unpublished work of medieval archeology.

Rules of participation

  1. Participation in the Prize is free for all researchers, Italian and foreign, who, at the date of the announcement, have not exceeded 35 years of age.
  2. The work, original and unpublished, including master's degree, specialization and doctoral theses (with the exception of contributions from the three-year degree thesis), discussed in the last five years, will have to deal with topics that contribute to the development of medieval archeology. also to interdisciplinary issues directly correlated and / or connected to its development, among which, by way of example, archaeometric issues, paleo-environmental issues, Public Archeology, Underwater Archeology and Computer Science Applied to Archeology are highlighted; furthermore, please note that the final version of the paper must not exceed 600.000 characters (including spaces, including bibliography, notes, captions) and 50 pages of illustrations (maximum 150 images, including photos, drawings, graphics and tables) . The steering committee, together with the publisher, will evaluate the case whether to accept any works that marginally exceed these indications, if deemed particularly worthy.
  3. It must be sent by 31.01.2023, to the SAMI Board of Directors, sami@insegnadelgiglio.it. in digital format, contained in a single file, in word or pdf format, together with the curriculum vitae of the author, with his age clearly specified.
  4. The Judging Commission is made up of the members of the SAMI Board of Directors. The only task of this Judging Commission is to proceed with an initial selection of the works in competition. The works selected in this way will then be submitted to the judgment of evaluators (Italian or foreign), external to the Steering Committee, in number of two per work. The scientific-academic evaluation of the work, useful for the accreditation of the Award, is based on this judgment alone. Following this last evaluation, a ranking list will be drawn up on the basis of which the Prize will be awarded.
  5. The work judged most deserving will be published in the series "Contributi di Archeologia Medievale", Dedicated to the award. The two evaluators chosen by the Steering Committee will be responsible for supervising the work of the winner of the Prize, during the editorial phase for publication.
  6. Based exclusively on the judgments of external referees, the Judging Commission reserves the right to report any other works, which may be published at the discretion of the Publisher and in a manner that will be agreed with the Publisher itself.
  7. The Commission, whose judgment is final and unquestionable, may not award any prize if the required requirements are not met among the works presented. There are no ex aequo prizes.
  8. The winners will be notified by e-mail. The awards ceremony will be held during the first meeting of the Company to be held after the publication of the volume.

The President of SAMI
Paul Arthur



The first volumes were published in various series, since 2004 a special series has been created, Contributi di Archeologia Medievale. Until 2010, an ex aequo prize was awarded in some cases.

Chronological list of the awarding of the prize
  • 2021 – non assegnato
  • 2020 – designato un vincitore e assegnato un secondo premio che prevede comunque la pubblicazione nella collana
    Luigi Pinchetti – “Between Town and Monastery. Peasant economy in the first millennium AD”, vincitore – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, c.s.
    2020 – Veronica Aniceti – “Animals and their roles in the medieval society of Sicily: from Byzantines to Arabs and from Arabs to Norman/Swabians”, secondo premio – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, c.s.
  • 2019 – Simona Catacchio – “Vitreum, alumen, sablonum”. I manufatti vitrei in Terra d’Otranto tra Medioevo e prima età Moderna (secoli XIII-XVI) – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 16
  • 2018 – Federico Zoni – Edilizia residenziale medievale dell’Appennino reggiano (secoli XI-XIV). Maestranze, committenti e ambienti tecnici – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 15
  • 2017 – Lara Sabbionesi – “Pro maiore sanitate hominum civitatis… et borgorum”. Lo smaltimento dei rifiuti nelle città medievali dell’Emilia Romagna – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 14
  • 2016 – Serena Zanetto – Tradizioni costruttive nell’alto e medio Adriatico (secoli VII-XI). Eredità e innovazione nell’alto Medioevo – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 13
  • 2015 – Paola Greppi – Cantieri, maestranze e materiali nell’edilizia sacra a Milano dal IV al XII secolo. Analisi di un processo di trasformazione – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 12
  • 2014 – Alessandro Alessio Rucco – Comacchio nell’alto Medioevo. Il paesaggio tra topografia e geoarcheologia – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 11
  • 2013 – non assegnato
  • 2012 – Sonia Virgili – Insediamenti civili e religiosi nella media e alta valle del Potenza (MC) – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 10
  • 2011 – Jacopo Bruttini – Archeologia urbana a Firenze. Lo scavo della terza corte di Palazzo Vecchio (indagini 1997-2006) – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 9
  • 2010 – ex aequo
    Daniele Ferraiuolo – Tra canone e innovazione. Lavorazione delle epigrafi nella “Langobardia minor” (secoli VIII-X) – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 8
    Cecilia Moine – Chiostri tra le acque. I monasteri femminili della laguna nord di Venezia nel basso Medioevo – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 7
  • 2009 – non assegnato
  • 2008 – Susanne Hackenback – Local, regional and ethnic identities in early medieval cemeteries in Bavaria (Premio Ottone d’Assia e Riccardo Francovich 2008) – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 5
  • 2007 – Marta Caroscio – La maiolica in Toscana tra Medioevo e Rinascimento. Il rapporto fra centri di produzione e di consumo nel periodo di transizione – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 4
  • 2006 – ex aequo
    Stefano Roascio – Le sculture ornamentali “veneto-bizantine” di Cividale. Un itinerario artistico e archeologico tra Oriente e Occidente medievale – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 6
    Fabio Saggioro – Paesaggi di pianura: trasformazioni del popolamento tra Età romana e Medioevo. Insediamenti, società e ambiente tra Mantova e Verona – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 3
  • 2005 – Enrico Cirelli – Ravenna: archeologia di una città – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 2
  • 2004 – Barbara Bianchi – Arabia e Palaestina dall’impero al califfato – Contributi di Archeologia Medievale, 1
  • 2003 – non assegnato
    2002 – Irene Barbiera – Changing Lands in Changing Memories. Migration and Identity during the Lombard Invasion – Biblioteca di Archeologia Medievale, 19
  • 2001 – Federico Cantini – Il castello di Montarrenti. Lo scavo archeologico (1982-1987). Per la storia della formazione del villaggio medievale in Toscana (secc. VII-XV) – Biblioteca del Dipartimento di Archeologia e Storia delle Arti. Sezione Archeologia. Università di Siena, 6
  • 2000 – Eleonora Destefanis – Il monastero di Bobbio in età altomedievale – Ricerche di Archeologia Altomedievale e Medievale, 27

The published volumes