Mediterranean Archaeology

Educational objectives

The course aims at exploring the main cultural and socio-economic processes that characterise the Prehistory of the Mediterranean, from the Palaeolithic to the Early Iron Age.
The goal is to provide the students with both theoretical models and analytic knowledge in order to develop skills in the understanding of complex phenomena such as the first human peopling, the hunter-gatherers dynamics of the Pleistocene, the affirmation of the first productive economy, the development of the metallurgy, the emergence of social inequalities and the development of complex societies, taking into account the intertwined phenomena of interaction between the diverse Mediterranean areas.

Educational objectives

In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the course is to give students a basic knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of prehistory and protohistory of Western Asia, with the help of advanced textbooks. Moreover, it will make the student able to apply the acquired knowledge in an expert and reflective way, making autonomous judgments, communicating ideas and problems in a clear and correct way, and developing the knowledge required to go further in the studies. A last aim is that of providing the students with methodological and theoretical instruments for the study and analysis of prehistoric contexts in Western Asia.
Specific aim of the course is the understanding of the dynamics that have brought to the development of egalitarian agricultural and pastoral societies and later to the development of complex societies, characterised by inequality and economic and technological specialization. The regions investigated shall be the Levant (eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea), Cyprus and Anatolia and particular interest shall be devoted to social and economic organization, technological knowledge, ideological and symbolic characters. Central shall be the issue of relations between these regions and both maritime and terrestrial routes of communication will be investigated for both the Neolithic (10th-6th millennia BCE) and Chalcolithic phases (5th-4th millennia BCE) and the course shall evaluate to what extent these might have contributed to the development of each region. Finally, the role of Western Asia in stimulating the neolithization process in other regions of eastern Europe shall be critically evaluated.

Educational objectives

The first section of the present course provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin. Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.
In accordance with the educational objectives of the CoS, the course aims to deliver knowledges and competencies in the field of Greek Archaeology, so to complete and strengthen the proficiencies that the students acquired within the previous cycle of studies. After the course, students are expected to acquire adequate skills in carrying out original researches pertaining the Greek world, in autonomously analysing and interpreting archaeological spaces, monuments and material culture in their artistic-historical, architectural, socio-economic and political reference contexts.
The course proposes an in-depth study of the methodologies, the goals and the contents of the Greek Archaeology; the student will gain a critical knowledge of the cult actions and ritual behaviours, of the development of the architectures and the urban planning, of the artistic and craft production, of the economic and commercial dimension of the Hellenic world, from the Proto-Geometric period until the Hellenistic Age. The lessons will also investigate contexts, monuments and evidences in order to understand the social and anthropological aspects of the polis, as well as the elements connected to the cultural transformations and the relations between the Greeks and the other coeval civilizations

Educational objectives

The first section of the present course provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin. Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.
In accordance with the educational objectives of the CoS, the course aims to deliver knowledges and competencies in the field of Greek Archaeology, so to complete and strengthen the proficiencies that the students acquired within the previous cycle of studies. After the course, students are expected to acquire adequate skills in carrying out original researches pertaining the Greek world, in autonomously analysing and interpreting archaeological spaces, monuments and material culture in their artistic-historical, architectural, socio-economic and political reference contexts.
The course proposes an in-depth study of the methodologies, the goals and the contents of the Greek Archaeology; the student will gain a critical knowledge of the cult actions and ritual behaviours, of the development of the architectures and the urban planning, of the artistic and craft production, of the economic and commercial dimension of the Hellenic world, from the Proto-Geometric period until the Hellenistic Age. The lessons will also investigate contexts, monuments and evidences in order to understand the social and anthropological aspects of the polis, as well as the elements connected to the cultural transformations and the relations between the Greeks and the other coeval civilizations

Educational objectives

The first section of the present course provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin. Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.
In accordance with the educational objectives of the CoS, the course aims to deliver knowledges and competencies in the field of Greek Archaeology, so to complete and strengthen the proficiencies that the students acquired within the previous cycle of studies. After the course, students are expected to acquire adequate skills in carrying out original researches pertaining the Greek world, in autonomously analysing and interpreting archaeological spaces, monuments and material culture in their artistic-historical, architectural, socio-economic and political reference contexts.
The course proposes an in-depth study of the methodologies, the goals and the contents of the Greek Archaeology; the student will gain a critical knowledge of the cult actions and ritual behaviours, of the development of the architectures and the urban planning, of the artistic and craft production, of the economic and commercial dimension of the Hellenic world, from the Proto-Geometric period until the Hellenistic Age. The lessons will also investigate contexts, monuments and evidences in order to understand the social and anthropological aspects of the polis, as well as the elements connected to the cultural transformations and the relations between the Greeks and the other coeval civilizations

Educational objectives

Within the course in ‘Roman Archaeology’, students will be able to deepen the themes connected to the landscape, the architectural heritage, the figurative arts and the material culture of the Mediterranean, from the foundation of Rome to the end of Antiquity. The analysis of a wide range of case studies will provide students with knowledge on the main methods and tools currently in use for the long-term reconstruction of the topographical, architectural, artistic and material history of the Mare Nostrum.

Educational objectives

During Late Antiquity we can observe the birth or rebirth, but also the beginning of the end or the end of many cities: Trier, Grenoble, Aquileia, Constantinople, Dura Europos, Aquae Tauri, Ostia present a wide range of problems that urban and landscape archaeology helps to understand. Students will have an overview of the main features of late antique towns towns in Mediterranean, thus understanding their transformations in Middle Ages.

Educational objectives

Consistently with the educational objectives of the whole MA course, this teaching unit aims to provide students with knowledge and comprehension skills that complement and/or strengthen those acquired in their first cycle of study. Students will be enabled to deal with original topics even in a research context, formulate judgements in a more complex and articulated form and study the topics autonomously. The course will explore, through selected case studies, Greek and Latin literary production from the point of view of its function as an expression of cultural identities related to specific historical, social and religious contexts, focusing on relations between the elites and other strata of society, and between centres and peripheries in the Mediterranean world.

Educational objectives

Consistently with the educational objectives of the whole MA course, this teaching unit aims to provide students with knowledge and comprehension skills that complement and/or strengthen those acquired in their first cycle of study. Students will be enabled to deal with original topics even in a research context, formulate judgements in a more complex and articulated form and study the topics autonomously. The course will explore, through selected case studies, Greek and Latin literary production from the point of view of its function as an expression of cultural identities related to specific historical, social and religious contexts, focusing on relations between the elites and other strata of society, and between centres and peripheries in the Mediterranean world.

Educational objectives

Consistently with the educational objectives of the whole MA course, this teaching unit aims to provide students with knowledge and comprehension skills that complement and/or strengthen those acquired in their first cycle of study. Students will be enabled to deal with original topics even in a research context, formulate judgements in a more complex and articulated form and study the topics autonomously. The course will explore, through selected case studies, Greek and Latin literary production from the point of view of its function as an expression of cultural identities related to specific historical, social and religious contexts, focusing on relations between the elites and other strata of society, and between centres and peripheries in the Mediterranean world.

Educational objectives

In consistency with the educational purposes of the MA Mediterranean Archaeology, aim of the course “Rome and the Mediterranean network” is to give students extensive knowledges and comprehension skills in the field of Mediterranean environment and network in interaction with the Roman power. The wide chronological range (3rd BCE – 5th CE) offers the possibility to analyze diachronically phenomena of “longue durée“, i.d. from the phase of the formation to the late developments of the Roman Empire. Thanks to a post-colonial, multidisciplinary approach and to a comparative analysis, the student will be skilled to tackle the complexity of the phenomenon.
Based on highly representative key studies, the teaching unit provides students with new approaches on the impact of Rome on the Mediterranean material culture, by investigating the dynamics of acculturation, exchange and interaction. In this innovative perspective, the course will focus on the diversity and complexity of different regional landscapes as well as variegated forms of urban and domestic life influenced by human mobility and technological transfer. Based on a detailed analysis of archaeological contexts, monuments and artefacts, the course will offer new insights on the cultural, ideological and economic factors underlying the Mediterranean connectivity, within the globalised network of the Roman Empire

Educational objectives

The course offers a comprehensive outline about medieval economic and social history, as well as the needed tools to understand the main economic, demographic and social aspects of medieval civilization between Vth and XVth centuries. During the lectures some sources of particular interest and of different types will be presented, in relation to the subject addressed. Teaching will be facilitated through the use of images and historical maps.

Educational objectives

The course aims to present the original features of the Ancient Near East in the historical period, from the Urban Revolution in the late fourth millennium BC to the Achaemenid Persian conquest of Babylon in the sixth century. BC. Students will be introduced to the main issues of the discipline: diversity and differences of accessible sources - both archaeological and written - a long and complex chronological period, in an extended and diverse geographical area.
To account for the complexity of the subject, alongside general lessons seminars on specific topics aimed at enriching the general theme of the course will be organized.

Educational objectives

The course of “Endangered Archaeology: threats and mitigation” aims to provide students with basic knowledge about the threats affecting archaeological sites and materials, and to review possible actions of risk and damage mitigation - both as preventive and corrective measures - adopted at national and international level. Looting excavations and the risks from war conflicts and ideological propaganda leading to destruction and illicit trafficking of archaeological materials are the most evident risk factors. However, long-term processes and deterioration issues due to natural and anthropogenic causes are also relevant.
The course will allow the student to develop an improved autonomous judgement and personal sensibility toward the protection and prevention of risks for archaeological sites and materials. He/she can then decide to deepen further these issues during the Master program and then to make them a crucial aspect of his/her future work. The legislative and operative references will also provide him with the tools to develop collaborative and working paths within non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or international agencies active in the protection and conservation of archaeological heritage.

Educational objectives

For the understanding and interpretation of the Greek and Roman past, the imagery of those cultures has always been an important source of information, besides the written sources (if at all available) and the ever-richer archaeological material. The classical research developed a broad range of analytical methods to address the topic of the image in the past, from the ‘positivistic’ classification to the ‘structuralist’ contextualisation. However, these studies started gradually giving way to the more anthropological, social and natural science approaches since the late 1970s. It was only in the last decade that the interest in visual aspect of the material remains arouse again under the new categories of image science and visual culture studies. Therefore, the primary aim of the course will be to address all the possible facets of the visual culture of the ancient world, from the Geometric period to the Late Antiquity.
While the commonly used means of iconography, iconology and reception will be discussed, the course aims at exploring whether and how the contemporary approaches to the visual culture – the natural sciences inclusive – can contribute to the study of ancient societies; we seek to discuss the semantic level of the use of specific themes in distinct contexts, the variations in the depiction schemes and their evolvement depending on external influences. These and further questions should allow us to understand the visual culture as an inherent part of the ancient world relating to its functional, chronological and social context. Therefore we will approach the debate on visual culture from two viewpoints: the first is the presentation of the concept, and the second is the proposal for its development based on the association between image and material culture. In this sense, we will discuss two basic elements in the archaeological treatment of images, based on the notion of material culture: the concepts of support and context. Finally, considering the previous theoretical debate, we will present some case studies. At the end of the course the student will be provided with appropriate bibliographical references, proper and updated methodological instruments to interpret the language of images created in the Ancient Greek and Roman world. Reading of methodological essays and the analysis of iconographic series, as well as specific figurative programs, are aimed to understand the meaning of Greek and Roman world images, with their reception in culturally related contexts. In addition, there will be references to the way in which this legacy of classical imagery has played its role in postclassical European figurative culture.

Educational objectives

The course aims to present the experimental archeology approach, its academic development and diffusion, the links between experimental archeology and other archaeological methods. Furthermore, a key point of the course is to scrutinize and to discuss what an "experimental protocol" means and how to apply it for the interpretation of the archaeological findings.

Educational objectives

The course aims at exploring the main cultural and socio-economic processes that characterise the Prehistory of the Mediterranean, from the Palaeolithic to the Early Iron Age.
The goal is to provide the students with both theoretical models and analytic knowledge in order to develop skills in the understanding of complex phenomena such as the first human peopling, the hunter-gatherers dynamics of the Pleistocene, the affirmation of the first productive economy, the development of the metallurgy, the emergence of social inequalities and the development of complex societies, taking into account the intertwined phenomena of interaction between the diverse Mediterranean areas.

Educational objectives

The course aims at exploring the main cultural and socio-economic processes that characterise the Prehistory of the Mediterranean, from the Palaeolithic to the Early Iron Age.
The goal is to provide the students with both theoretical models and analytic knowledge in order to develop skills in the understanding of complex phenomena such as the first human peopling, the hunter-gatherers dynamics of the Pleistocene, the affirmation of the first productive economy, the development of the metallurgy, the emergence of social inequalities and the development of complex societies, taking into account the intertwined phenomena of interaction between the diverse Mediterranean areas.

Educational objectives

In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the course is to give students a basic knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of prehistory and protohistory of Western Asia, with the help of advanced textbooks. Moreover, it will make the student able to apply the acquired knowledge in an expert and reflective way, making autonomous judgments, communicating ideas and problems in a clear and correct way, and developing the knowledge required to go further in the studies. A last aim is that of providing the students with methodological and theoretical instruments for the study and analysis of prehistoric contexts in Western Asia.
Specific aim of the course is the understanding of the dynamics that have brought to the development of egalitarian agricultural and pastoral societies and later to the development of complex societies, characterised by inequality and economic and technological specialization. The regions investigated shall be the Levant (eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea), Cyprus and Anatolia and particular interest shall be devoted to social and economic organization, technological knowledge, ideological and symbolic characters. Central shall be the issue of relations between these regions and both maritime and terrestrial routes of communication will be investigated for both the Neolithic (10th-6th millennia BCE) and Chalcolithic phases (5th-4th millennia BCE) and the course shall evaluate to what extent these might have contributed to the development of each region. Finally, the role of Western Asia in stimulating the neolithization process in other regions of eastern Europe shall be critically evaluated.

Educational objectives

Students will deepen their knowledge of Ancient Greek and Roman history and culture through analysis of case-studies; they are also expected to increase their understanding of ancient evidence, especially literary texts and epigraphic documents. By studying and discussing the sources, they will be enabled to interpret and interrelate historical narratives. The course will tackle the historical issues by applying the knowledge and understanding of ancient sources and will lead the students to make their own judgements on this basis. They will also display their newly acquired skills in reading and interpreting ancient evidence during class lections and the final oral exam, at the meantime showing their learning skills in historical commentaries on many literary and epigraphic sources.

Educational objectives

A part of the course follows the journey of Phoenicians across the Mediterranean along the trade routes to the West at the beginnings of the first millennium BC. We will travel together with the Phoenician merchants who founded emporia and cities along the “Route of the Great Islands”, leading from Phoenicia to the Central and Western Mediterranean. The journey will take us to Motya, an ancient Phoenician colony in Western Sicily which increases its political and commercial power in the Central Mediterranean and beyond from the 8th to the 4th century BC. At Motya we will analyze the modalities of interaction, dialogue and coexistence between the newcomers and local population, discovering a model of exchange that overcomes the dynamics of trade, and embraces religious traditions, technologies, population, in an out-and-out system of mutual enrichment. These dynamics unfold in the background of the historical events that, in the central centuries of the first millennium BC, involve two other powerful civilizations in Western Mediterranean, the Greeks and the Etruscans.
The Etruscan cities played and extremely significant role in the Mediterranean in the first millennium BC, beginning with the international hub of Caere (8th-6th cent. BC), evidenced by the thesauros the city built at Delphi, and continuing with the crucial involvement of Tarquinii and Veii in the history of Archaic Rome and with the management of the often difficult political and commercial relations with the Punic and Greek colonies in the northern sector of the Tyrrhenian sea, in which the city of Volci was fully involved in the Archaic period. The course will explore this complex mosaic, paying particular attention to the data that can be gained from the funerary record and from the ports of the ancient Etruscan cities, considering them under the light of their economic, political and religious roles.

Educational objectives

The first section of the present course provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin. Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.
In accordance with the educational objectives of the CoS, the course aims to deliver knowledges and competencies in the field of Greek Archaeology, so to complete and strengthen the proficiencies that the students acquired within the previous cycle of studies. After the course, students are expected to acquire adequate skills in carrying out original researches pertaining the Greek world, in autonomously analysing and interpreting archaeological spaces, monuments and material culture in their artistic-historical, architectural, socio-economic and political reference contexts.
The course proposes an in-depth study of the methodologies, the goals and the contents of the Greek Archaeology; the student will gain a critical knowledge of the cult actions and ritual behaviours, of the development of the architectures and the urban planning, of the artistic and craft production, of the economic and commercial dimension of the Hellenic world, from the Proto-Geometric period until the Hellenistic Age. The lessons will also investigate contexts, monuments and evidences in order to understand the social and anthropological aspects of the polis, as well as the elements connected to the cultural transformations and the relations between the Greeks and the other coeval civilizations

Educational objectives

The first section of the present course provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin. Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.
In accordance with the educational objectives of the CoS, the course aims to deliver knowledges and competencies in the field of Greek Archaeology, so to complete and strengthen the proficiencies that the students acquired within the previous cycle of studies. After the course, students are expected to acquire adequate skills in carrying out original researches pertaining the Greek world, in autonomously analysing and interpreting archaeological spaces, monuments and material culture in their artistic-historical, architectural, socio-economic and political reference contexts.
The course proposes an in-depth study of the methodologies, the goals and the contents of the Greek Archaeology; the student will gain a critical knowledge of the cult actions and ritual behaviours, of the development of the architectures and the urban planning, of the artistic and craft production, of the economic and commercial dimension of the Hellenic world, from the Proto-Geometric period until the Hellenistic Age. The lessons will also investigate contexts, monuments and evidences in order to understand the social and anthropological aspects of the polis, as well as the elements connected to the cultural transformations and the relations between the Greeks and the other coeval civilizations

Educational objectives

The first section of the present course provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin. Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.
In accordance with the educational objectives of the CoS, the course aims to deliver knowledges and competencies in the field of Greek Archaeology, so to complete and strengthen the proficiencies that the students acquired within the previous cycle of studies. After the course, students are expected to acquire adequate skills in carrying out original researches pertaining the Greek world, in autonomously analysing and interpreting archaeological spaces, monuments and material culture in their artistic-historical, architectural, socio-economic and political reference contexts.
The course proposes an in-depth study of the methodologies, the goals and the contents of the Greek Archaeology; the student will gain a critical knowledge of the cult actions and ritual behaviours, of the development of the architectures and the urban planning, of the artistic and craft production, of the economic and commercial dimension of the Hellenic world, from the Proto-Geometric period until the Hellenistic Age. The lessons will also investigate contexts, monuments and evidences in order to understand the social and anthropological aspects of the polis, as well as the elements connected to the cultural transformations and the relations between the Greeks and the other coeval civilizations

Educational objectives

Within the course in ‘Roman Archaeology’, students will be able to deepen the themes connected to the landscape, the architectural heritage, the figurative arts and the material culture of the Mediterranean, from the foundation of Rome to the end of Antiquity. The analysis of a wide range of case studies will provide students with knowledge on the main methods and tools currently in use for the long-term reconstruction of the topographical, architectural, artistic and material history of the Mare Nostrum.

Educational objectives

During Late Antiquity we can observe the birth or rebirth, but also the beginning of the end or the end of many cities: Trier, Grenoble, Aquileia, Constantinople, Dura Europos, Aquae Tauri, Ostia present a wide range of problems that urban and landscape archaeology helps to understand. Students will have an overview of the main features of late antique towns towns in Mediterranean, thus understanding their transformations in Middle Ages.

Educational objectives

Consistently with the educational objectives of the whole MA course, this teaching unit aims to provide students with knowledge and comprehension skills that complement and/or strengthen those acquired in their first cycle of study. Students will be enabled to deal with original topics even in a research context, formulate judgements in a more complex and articulated form and study the topics autonomously. The course will explore, through selected case studies, Greek and Latin literary production from the point of view of its function as an expression of cultural identities related to specific historical, social and religious contexts, focusing on relations between the elites and other strata of society, and between centres and peripheries in the Mediterranean world.

Educational objectives

Consistently with the educational objectives of the whole MA course, this teaching unit aims to provide students with knowledge and comprehension skills that complement and/or strengthen those acquired in their first cycle of study. Students will be enabled to deal with original topics even in a research context, formulate judgements in a more complex and articulated form and study the topics autonomously. The course will explore, through selected case studies, Greek and Latin literary production from the point of view of its function as an expression of cultural identities related to specific historical, social and religious contexts, focusing on relations between the elites and other strata of society, and between centres and peripheries in the Mediterranean world.

Educational objectives

Consistently with the educational objectives of the whole MA course, this teaching unit aims to provide students with knowledge and comprehension skills that complement and/or strengthen those acquired in their first cycle of study. Students will be enabled to deal with original topics even in a research context, formulate judgements in a more complex and articulated form and study the topics autonomously. The course will explore, through selected case studies, Greek and Latin literary production from the point of view of its function as an expression of cultural identities related to specific historical, social and religious contexts, focusing on relations between the elites and other strata of society, and between centres and peripheries in the Mediterranean world.

Educational objectives

This course will provide the students with an understanding of the main methodologies for an integrated approach to the study of the zooarchaeological remains from archaeological contexts, from Prehistory to post-Antiquity. The course aims at: allowing the student to develop a knowledge of Zooarchaeology and acquiring the necessary tools to link their knowledge of the material with an investigation of complex archaeological questions.

Educational objectives

Human diversity is defined by the sum of unique biological and cultural variation within our species. The aim of this course is to develop knowledge and skills to approach complex research questions in the field of the Archaeology of human diversity. It provides students with an understanding of the current debate in human variation, behaviour and gender questions in Prehistory. Students will be prepared to apply advanced methods in order to build research questions and analysis and to develop a critical evaluation of the subject.

Educational objectives

The aim of this course is to develop a skilled knowledge of research questions, debates, and strategies used in the field of Public Archaeology. Students will be prepared to approach the different means of communicating archaeology to the public, to develop critical evaluation of arguments, and to transform their ideas into real projects.

Educational objectives

The course will introduce the study of ancient human remains. Through the observation of skeletal traits health status and past osteobiographies of Mediterranean populations will be discussed. Particular emphasis will be given to biomolecular investigations aimed at the reconstruction of past lifeways.

Educational objectives

In consistency with the educational purposes of the MA Mediterranean Archaeology, aim of the course “Rome and the Mediterranean network” is to give students extensive knowledges and comprehension skills in the field of Mediterranean environment and network in interaction with the Roman power. The wide chronological range (3rd BCE – 5th CE) offers the possibility to analyze diachronically phenomena of “longue durée“, i.d. from the phase of the formation to the late developments of the Roman Empire. Thanks to a post-colonial, multidisciplinary approach and to a comparative analysis, the student will be skilled to tackle the complexity of the phenomenon.
Based on highly representative key studies, the teaching unit provides students with new approaches on the impact of Rome on the Mediterranean material culture, by investigating the dynamics of acculturation, exchange and interaction. In this innovative perspective, the course will focus on the diversity and complexity of different regional landscapes as well as variegated forms of urban and domestic life influenced by human mobility and technological transfer. Based on a detailed analysis of archaeological contexts, monuments and artefacts, the course will offer new insights on the cultural, ideological and economic factors underlying the Mediterranean connectivity, within the globalised network of the Roman Empire

Educational objectives

The course aims to present the original features of the Ancient Near East in the historical period, from the Urban Revolution in the late fourth millennium BC to the Achaemenid Persian conquest of Babylon in the sixth century. BC. Students will be introduced to the main issues of the discipline: diversity and differences of accessible sources - both archaeological and written - a long and complex chronological period, in an extended and diverse geographical area.
To account for the complexity of the subject, alongside general lessons seminars on specific topics aimed at enriching the general theme of the course will be organized.

Educational objectives

The course aims to provide students with both conceptual and methodological IT tools for archaeological research. The following subjects will be addressed: (1) nature and types of archaeological data: formalization and acquisition; (2) data management: storage and interrogation of spatial, quantitative, and descriptive data; (3) data analysis: statistical ang geo-statistical tools, intra-site and territorial GIS applications for spatial analysis.

Educational objectives

The course of “Endangered Archaeology: threats and mitigation” aims to provide students with basic knowledge about the threats affecting archaeological sites and materials, and to review possible actions of risk and damage mitigation - both as preventive and corrective measures - adopted at national and international level. Looting excavations and the risks from war conflicts and ideological propaganda leading to destruction and illicit trafficking of archaeological materials are the most evident risk factors. However, long-term processes and deterioration issues due to natural and anthropogenic causes are also relevant.
The course will allow the student to develop an improved autonomous judgement and personal sensibility toward the protection and prevention of risks for archaeological sites and materials. He/she can then decide to deepen further these issues during the Master program and then to make them a crucial aspect of his/her future work. The legislative and operative references will also provide him with the tools to develop collaborative and working paths within non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or international agencies active in the protection and conservation of archaeological heritage.

Educational objectives

Ancient Topography studies the territory and the landscape in connection with the anthropogenic action, through a specific methodology: use of the literary, archival and bibliographic sources, historical and modern cartography, remote sensing and geomorphological analysis.

Educational objectives

For the understanding and interpretation of the Greek and Roman past, the imagery of those cultures has always been an important source of information, besides the written sources (if at all available) and the ever-richer archaeological material. The classical research developed a broad range of analytical methods to address the topic of the image in the past, from the ‘positivistic’ classification to the ‘structuralist’ contextualisation. However, these studies started gradually giving way to the more anthropological, social and natural science approaches since the late 1970s. It was only in the last decade that the interest in visual aspect of the material remains arouse again under the new categories of image science and visual culture studies. Therefore, the primary aim of the course will be to address all the possible facets of the visual culture of the ancient world, from the Geometric period to the Late Antiquity.
While the commonly used means of iconography, iconology and reception will be discussed, the course aims at exploring whether and how the contemporary approaches to the visual culture – the natural sciences inclusive – can contribute to the study of ancient societies; we seek to discuss the semantic level of the use of specific themes in distinct contexts, the variations in the depiction schemes and their evolvement depending on external influences. These and further questions should allow us to understand the visual culture as an inherent part of the ancient world relating to its functional, chronological and social context. Therefore we will approach the debate on visual culture from two viewpoints: the first is the presentation of the concept, and the second is the proposal for its development based on the association between image and material culture. In this sense, we will discuss two basic elements in the archaeological treatment of images, based on the notion of material culture: the concepts of support and context. Finally, considering the previous theoretical debate, we will present some case studies. At the end of the course the student will be provided with appropriate bibliographical references, proper and updated methodological instruments to interpret the language of images created in the Ancient Greek and Roman world. Reading of methodological essays and the analysis of iconographic series, as well as specific figurative programs, are aimed to understand the meaning of Greek and Roman world images, with their reception in culturally related contexts. In addition, there will be references to the way in which this legacy of classical imagery has played its role in postclassical European figurative culture.

Educational objectives

The course aims to present the experimental archeology approach, its academic development and diffusion, the links between experimental archeology and other archaeological methods. Furthermore, a key point of the course is to scrutinize and to discuss what an "experimental protocol" means and how to apply it for the interpretation of the archaeological findings.

Educational objectives

The aim of the course is to provide basic knowledge about the investigation methodologies used to study materials and processing techniques, as well as for dating of the archaeological heritage products. In detail, the main non-destructive techniques (such as UV fluorescence, radiography, XRF, neutron activation) and dating of materials (thermoluminescence, dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating) will be discussed.

Educational objectives

The course aims to teach basic knowledge of the history and theory of Heritage conservation, and to provide skills in analytical survey, historical investigation, reading and diagnosis of degradation and conservation works; inform the students about regulations and cataloguing; practice in the design of a restoration project. The aim of restoration is not only to conserve the integrity of the risources, but also to reveal its cultural values and to improve the leggibility of its design. Restoration is high specialization operation based on a critical-historical process of evaluation, and must not be based on conjecture.

Educational objectives

The course offers a comprehensive outline about medieval economic and social history, as well as the needed tools to understand the main economic, demographic and social aspects of medieval civilization between Vth and XVth centuries. During the lectures some sources of particular interest and of different types will be presented, in relation to the subject addressed. Teaching will be facilitated through the use of images and historical maps.

Educational objectives

This module provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin.
Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during
the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and
Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates
and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.

Educational objectives

This module provides a comprehensive overview of the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean basin.
Through a series of lessons and illustrations, it traces the cultural evolution of human communities during
the formative period of Aegean civilizations into the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and
Mycenaean Greece and their post-palatial twilight. Students will be updated on the most important debates
and discussions currently taking place within the discipline.

Educational objectives

In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the course is to give students a basic knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of prehistory and protohistory of Western Asia, with the help of advanced textbooks. Moreover, it will make the student able to apply the acquired knowledge in an expert and reflective way, making autonomous judgments, communicating ideas and problems in a clear and correct way, and developing the knowledge required to go further in the studies. A last aim is that of providing the students with methodological and theoretical instruments for the study and analysis of prehistoric contexts in Western Asia.
Specific aim of the course is the understanding of the dynamics that have brought to the development of egalitarian agricultural and pastoral societies and later to the development of complex societies, characterised by inequality and economic and technological specialization. The regions investigated shall be the Levant (eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea), Cyprus and Anatolia and particular interest shall be devoted to social and economic organization, technological knowledge, ideological and symbolic characters. Central shall be the issue of relations between these regions and both maritime and terrestrial routes of communication will be investigated for both the Neolithic (10th-6th millennia BCE) and Chalcolithic phases (5th-4th millennia BCE) and the course shall evaluate to what extent these might have contributed to the development of each region. Finally, the role of Western Asia in stimulating the neolithization process in other regions of eastern Europe shall be critically evaluated.

Educational objectives

Acquire the bases of archaeobotany through the analysis of fossil plant remains.
Acquire knowledge of paleoenvironmental methodologies and of the main climatic events during the Holocene in the Mediterranean region.
Comprehend interactions between man, landscape and climate changes along time with a focus on resilience and collapse of past populations of the Mediterranean region.
Understand causes and effects of the beginning of agriculture.
Discern contexts and materials suitable for archaeobotanical and palaeoenvironmental analyses and select the suitable methods according with the context.

Educational objectives

Understanding of the complex relationship existing between past climate change and ancient Mediterranean cultures. The target will be achieved through the illustration of archaeobotanical materials and methods and the presentation and discussion of specific case studies

Educational objectives

At the end of the course, students will be able to: i) identify theoretical and methodological tools for the study of food and culture in archaeology; ii) critically analyze studies on food consumption in the past; iii) improve their understanding of biomolecular techniques in Archaeology; iv) understand the integration between theoretical perspectives and lab-based analysis.

Educational objectives

Main objectives
To acquire knowledge of human osteology and bioarchaeology of ancient human populations in prehistory and history of human populations. To understand the relationship between adaptive biological phenomena and cultural dynamics.

Specific objectives
A) Knowledge and understanding
The concept of biological and cultural adaptation
Human evolution and adaptation
Skeletal anatomy
Methods of sex determination and estimation of age at death
Skeletal pathologies
Dental anthropology
Bioarchaeology of ancient human populations
Osteobiography

B) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
To be able to use the specific terminology
Identify the main factors involved in the relationship between biological and cultural factors
Understand the contribution of bioarchaeology to the understanding of the cultural dynamics of the pas

C) Autonomy of judgement
To be able to reconstruct in chronological terms the history of the health and life conditions of populations of the past
to be able to evaluate and revise literature data relating to bioarchaeological investigations

D) Communication skills
To be able to illustrate the results of bibliographic research carried out in the context of classroom discussions
To be able to present and discuss a case study on a bioarchaeological reconstruction
To be able to understand manuscripts in English and be able to indicate the salient features in the oral examination

E) Learning skills
To learn specific terminology
Connect acquired knowledge in a logical way
Identify the most relevant topics of the subjects covered
Know how to consult specialized databases (e.g. scopus; pubmed)

Educational objectives

Main objectives
To acquire knowledge of human osteology and bioarchaeology of ancient human populations in prehistory and history of human populations. To understand the relationship between adaptive biological phenomena and cultural dynamics.

Specific objectives
A) Knowledge and understanding
The concept of biological and cultural adaptation
Human evolution and adaptation
Skeletal anatomy
Methods of sex determination and estimation of age at death
Skeletal pathologies
Dental anthropology
Bioarchaeology of ancient human populations
Osteobiography

B) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
To be able to use the specific terminology
Identify the main factors involved in the relationship between biological and cultural factors
Understand the contribution of bioarchaeology to the understanding of the cultural dynamics of the pas

C) Autonomy of judgement
To be able to reconstruct in chronological terms the history of the health and life conditions of populations of the past
to be able to evaluate and revise literature data relating to bioarchaeological investigations

D) Communication skills
To be able to illustrate the results of bibliographic research carried out in the context of classroom discussions
To be able to present and discuss a case study on a bioarchaeological reconstruction
To be able to understand manuscripts in English and be able to indicate the salient features in the oral examination

E) Learning skills
To learn specific terminology
Connect acquired knowledge in a logical way
Identify the most relevant topics of the subjects covered
Know how to consult specialized databases (e.g. scopus; pubmed)

Educational objectives

The course offers an overview of the evolution of our species with a specific focus on diet, pathogen and disease and the relationships with other Homo species. During the frontal lessons students will acquire the necessary knowledge to comprehend the genetic and osteological evidence of the interaction between humans and environment. During the practical exercises, these knowledges will be applied to the analysis of molecular data and the recognition of bone lesions from trauma and disease.T

Educational objectives

The course aims to provide students with both conceptual and methodological IT tools for archaeological research. The following subjects will be addressed: (1) nature and types of archaeological data: formalization and acquisition; (2) data management: storage and interrogation of spatial, quantitative, and descriptive data; (3) data analysis: statistical ang geo-statistical tools, intra-site and territorial GIS applications for spatial analysis.

Educational objectives

The aim of the course is to provide basic knowledge about the investigation methodologies used to study materials and processing techniques, as well as for dating of the archaeological heritage products. In detail, the main non-destructive techniques (such as UV fluorescence, radiography, XRF, neutron activation) and dating of materials (thermoluminescence, dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating) will be discussed.

Educational objectives

The aim of the course is increasing the knowledge acquired after the Bechelor Degree concerning the nature, alteration processes and degradation of materials used in the field of cultural heritage (stone, ceramics, glass, plasters), as well as studying the investigation methods usually applied, focusing on recent and innovative applications. This information will allow students to independently develop a research project (which will be set during the laboratory hours and evaluated at the end of the course) to present it and promote it.

A - Knowledge and understanding
OF 1) Knowing the composition of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone).
OF 2) Knowing the production processes and the degradation phenomena of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone).
OF 3) Knowing the analytical methods usually used in the characterization of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone).
OF 4) Knowing some advanced analytical methods used recently in the characterization of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone).
OF 5) Understanding the problems connected to the mortar dating and the recent projects focused on this topic
OF 6) Understanding the problems connected to the white marble provenance and the recent projects focused on this topic

B - Application skills
OF 7) Being able to deduce the innovative aspects proposed in the scientific articles in the analysis of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone).
OF 8) Being able to deduce the problems still present and not solved in the analysis of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone).

C – Autonomy of judgment
OF 9) Being able to deduce a possible method useful to solve the problems still present in the analysis of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone)
OF 10) Being able to create a scientific project focused on the analysis of one of the main geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone).

D - Communication skills
OF 11) Knowing how to write a scientific project
OF 12) Knowing how to communicate the project to people not included in the academic world

E - Ability to learn
OF 13) Having the ability to consult scientific literature on geomaterials applied in the cultural heritage (ceramic, glass, mortar and plaster, stone)
OF 14) Having the ability to consult database on national and international scientific projects

Educational objectives

The course aims to introduce the core relevance theme of the relationship between the mobility of human groups and the forms of society within the Ancient Mediterranean, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages. Both cases of individual or small group and of massive mobility (migrations) will be analysed, and contrasted with the background of medium and long-distance trade, as well as of even or asymmetrical relationships between societies. The connection between these two aspects, mobility and society, will be highlighted, through consolidated research topics and innovative and interdisciplinary issues, mainly derived from the anthropological and biological sciences. The course will enable students to master the current debate and acquire full awareness of the necessary skills for a modern interdisciplinary investigation.

Educational objectives

The course of “Endangered Archaeology: threats and mitigation” aims to provide students with basic knowledge about the threats affecting archaeological sites and materials, and to review possible actions of risk and damage mitigation - both as preventive and corrective measures - adopted at national and international level. Looting excavations and the risks from war conflicts and ideological propaganda leading to destruction and illicit trafficking of archaeological materials are the most evident risk factors. However, long-term processes and deterioration issues due to natural and anthropogenic causes are also relevant.
The course will allow the student to develop an improved autonomous judgement and personal sensibility toward the protection and prevention of risks for archaeological sites and materials. He/she can then decide to deepen further these issues during the Master program and then to make them a crucial aspect of his/her future work. The legislative and operative references will also provide him with the tools to develop collaborative and working paths within non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or international agencies active in the protection and conservation of archaeological heritage.

Educational objectives

The course aims to present the experimental archeology approach, its academic development and
diffusion, the links between experimental archeology and other archaeological methods, especially
use-wear and residues analyses. Furthermore, a key point of the course is to scrutinize and to
discuss what an “experimental protocol” means and how to apply it for the interpretation of the
archaeological findings.

Educational objectives

In the course, all the main topics and recent advances in the Palaeolithic Archaeology will be addressed, first
with a theoretical approach and then with examples of archaeological case studies and reading of recent
papers and fundamental books. The course aims to provide, in the context of Palaeolithic Archaeology, the
knowledge and understanding necessary to address original topics in a research context, and it aims at
building a complex and articulated point of view, communicating the advances and discoveries and the
processes that led to their acquisition, and preparing the students to study the topics autonomously. A
specific point of view will concern the Palaeolithic of the Mediterranean. The course will allow students to
obtain an updated and detailed preparation on the primary debates that animate the discipline at the current
moment. It will touch on topics such as the evolution of Hominins in the Pleistocene, the mobility of hunter-
gatherers, specific behavioural and ecological adaptations, modes of cultural transmission, lithic technology,
subsistence. A specialized seminar will be chosen together with the students in order to work on a specific
theme, producing a scientific paper.

Educational objectives

In the course, all the main topics and recent advances in the Palaeolithic Archaeology will be addressed, first
with a theoretical approach and then with examples of archaeological case studies and reading of recent
papers and fundamental books. The course aims to provide, in the context of Palaeolithic Archaeology, the
knowledge and understanding necessary to address original topics in a research context, and it aims at
building a complex and articulated point of view, communicating the advances and discoveries and the
processes that led to their acquisition, and preparing the students to study the topics autonomously. A
specific point of view will concern the Palaeolithic of the Mediterranean. The course will allow students to
obtain an updated and detailed preparation on the primary debates that animate the discipline at the current
moment. It will touch on topics such as the evolution of Hominins in the Pleistocene, the mobility of hunter-
gatherers, specific behavioural and ecological adaptations, modes of cultural transmission, lithic technology,
subsistence. A specialized seminar will be chosen together with the students in order to work on a specific
theme, producing a scientific paper.

Educational objectives

In the course, all the main topics and recent advances in the Palaeolithic Archaeology will be addressed, first
with a theoretical approach and then with examples of archaeological case studies and reading of recent
papers and fundamental books. The course aims to provide, in the context of Palaeolithic Archaeology, the
knowledge and understanding necessary to address original topics in a research context, and it aims at
building a complex and articulated point of view, communicating the advances and discoveries and the
processes that led to their acquisition, and preparing the students to study the topics autonomously. A
specific point of view will concern the Palaeolithic of the Mediterranean. The course will allow students to
obtain an updated and detailed preparation on the primary debates that animate the discipline at the current
moment. It will touch on topics such as the evolution of Hominins in the Pleistocene, the mobility of hunter-
gatherers, specific behavioural and ecological adaptations, modes of cultural transmission, lithic technology,
subsistence. A specialized seminar will be chosen together with the students in order to work on a specific
theme, producing a scientific paper.

Educational objectives

Human diversity is defined by the sum of unique biological and cultural variation within our species. The aim of this course is to develop knowledge and skills to approach complex research questions in the field of the Archaeology of human diversity. It provides students with an understanding of the current debate in human variation, behaviour and gender questions in Prehistory. Students will be prepared to apply advanced methods in order to build research questions and analysis and to develop a critical evaluation of the subject.

Educational objectives

Human diversity is defined by the sum of unique biological and cultural variation within our species. The aim of this course is to develop knowledge and skills to approach complex research questions in the field of the Archaeology of human diversity. It provides students with an understanding of the current debate in human variation, behaviour and gender questions in Prehistory. Students will be prepared to apply advanced methods in order to build research questions and analysis and to develop a critical evaluation of the subject.

Educational objectives

Human diversity is defined by the sum of unique biological and cultural variation within our species. The aim of this course is to develop knowledge and skills to approach complex research questions in the field of the Archaeology of human diversity. It provides students with an understanding of the current debate in human variation, behaviour and gender questions in Prehistory. Students will be prepared to apply advanced methods in order to build research questions and analysis and to develop a critical evaluation of the subject.

Educational objectives

The aim of this course is to develop a skilled knowledge of research questions, debates, and strategies used in the field of Public Archaeology. Students will be prepared to approach the different means of communicating archaeology to the public, to develop critical evaluation of arguments, and to transform their ideas into real projects.

Educational objectives

The course will examine the existing interactions between man and the space where he lives and works, both in relation to the private and public spheres. Through the examination of a wide range of case studies, students will learn the main method tools used - thanks to the comparative analysis of archaeological, epigraphic and literary sources - to reconstruct the social or sometimes 'more intimate' dimension of different places (houses, public spaces, places of worship, necropolis, places related to production, exchange and trade). Places where the peoples who have alternated in the Mediterranean between Archaism and the end of Antiquity have built some of the features determinants of their historical and cultural parable.