Pierres errantes. Stones' journeys from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Alps

“Pierres Errantes” is a inter- and multi-disciplinary project which seeks to expand our understanding of the context and continuity of the material and symbolic image of the Roman city and its territory in two key case study areas in Cisalpine Italy, in the Regio XI Transpadana: Mediolanum and Vercellae. We are completing a programme of innovative, materials-based, analysis of the monuments and structures in stone (especially in marble) which played a central role in the expression of the need for self-representation in the Roman period, in both public and private spheres, and in rural and urban spaces, and which, with the processes of destruction, reuse and transformation, shaped again the image of the city and the countryside in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The distinctive contribution of this project, driven by an interdisciplinary team, is to draw together the strengths and tradition of research on Roman urbanism and sculpture with the, often separated, tradition of work on Medieval urbanism and sculpture through an interweaving of skills, ranging from Classical and Medieval archaeology to ancient and Medieval art history, from petrology to archaeometry, from geography to photography, to reveal multiple means of interpretation. This is allowing allow us to go beyond the completion of a bare, necessary, census (of "data") and to focus on fundamental questions of a societal nature: from the Roman contexts in which specific lithotypes were selected to the Medieval contexts that were chosen for their reuse, transformation and/or integration into new artistic programmes over the long stretch of antiquity to the contemporary viewing public. Public engagement, a key strand to support the integration and sustainability of the project, is being driven through a virtual exhibition, in Italian and English, a series of direct educational workshops, designed to engage school students with artefacts and contexts through photography and photogrammetry, and through collaborative work with local authorities to co-create region guides. As a last point it should be noted that the Project, to the extent that it deals with the theme of reuse, fits into the more general theme of the circular economy and further noted that we will highlight the significance of this theme to a diverse public through educational workshops and tourist itineraries.”