Anagrafe della ricerca

The aim of the project is to deepen our knowledge of the architects and builders working in medieval Italy. Our country represented a space of experimentation and development of the figure of the architect in the European framework, from the 11th century to the Gothic age. In Italy, in fact, the sources present the most celebrated architects of the Romanesque period, such as Buscheto in Pisa and Lanfranco in Modena, personalities who emerged from the traditional anonymity of the building trade and distinguished themselves as high-level professional figures. This affirmation takes place in the context of the Italian communal civilization, where institutions promoted public works and recognized the dignity of work at the service of the urban community. Later, narrative, epigraphic and administrative sources allow us to follow the development of professional activities in the building sector and to know new figures of architects who marked the history of the art of building in Italy. In the South, significant information emerges already during the Norman reign, which intensifies with the imperial rule of Frederick II. In the Angevin kingdom of Naples a vast availability of administrative sources makes it possible to get in touch with the organization of construction sites in the capital and in the main cities, the division of labour and the most important figures of directors of construction sites, operating in a highly specialized context, in relation with masters from France. In central and northern Italy between the 13th and 14th centuries, the Communes and the Seigneuries established privileged relationships with the most famous architects, responsible for the building sites promoted by the civil authorities. A large amount of information is handed down by the administrative documentation promoted by the Italian Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca MUR - BANDO 2022 municipalities, which still awaits a systematic comparative examination. Studies on these historical processes and on the affirmation of the figure of the architect in the Italian late Middle Ages require a new in-depth study and an updating of the investigations. The role of the architect, the organization of the building sites, the specialization of the workers in the different building sectors, is a task of capital importance for a new understanding of Italian architecture from the Romanesque to the Gothic age. Research to date is fragmentary and mainly monographic in nature, while an overall reading of this long process of development is lacking. The project gathers the main scholars who, at a national level, have carried out research in this field. The coordination of investigations, the sharing of research methods, the exchange of information among the team members, the database repertory on line and the open access publication of results, are the most significant strengths of the project.