Seminars on ancient topography and landscape archaeology
The cycle of Seminars on ancient topography and landscape archaeology for the 2025-26 academic year continues, with a new event organized by Rodolfo Brancato and Teresa Tescione (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II – Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici).
The meeting will host Claudia Lamanna, from the University of Bologna, who will hold a seminar entitled “Una giornata nelle terme romane: pratiche, architettura e vita quotidiana“. The talk is closely connected to the themes the speaker researches within the “Baths Architecture in Late Antique Sicily: Natural Resources and Economic Sustainability” project (BALNEa Project). Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme and hosted by the University of Bologna, the project investigates the decline of Roman public baths (balnea) in Late Antiquity. While this phenomenon is traditionally attributed to cultural shifts tied to the rise of Christianity, the research explores the environmental and economic pressures that made maintaining these structures difficult. Using Sicily as a case study, the investigation merges archaeology with 3D technologies to digitally reconstruct thermal spaces, analyzing their volumes, energy consumption for heating, and fuel procurement cycles. The goal is to understand how ancient societies balanced luxury and sustainability.
The event will open with institutional greetings by Geltrude Bizzarro (Archaeologist SABAP of Caserta and Benevento), Mario Cesarano (Director of the Museo Dell’Agro Atellano-DRMN-CAM), Ernesto Di Serio (Councilor for the Archaeological Park of Atella), and Francesco Pascale (Director of the Terra Felix Cooperative). This will be followed by an introduction by Rodolfo Brancato, Director of the University of Naples investigations at the Archaeological Park of Atella.
The in-person event is scheduled for Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 5:00 PM, and will be held at the Ex Municipio di Atella, Via Martiri Atellani, 210, in Sant’Arpino (CE).
For all other information, write to: rodolfo.brancato@unina.it.
