Archaeology and the sea at the Procida Summer School
The sixth edition of the Procida Summer Training School on archaeology took place from 6 to 11 September. It was organized by the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, on the initiative of Prof. Massimiliano Marazzi, in agreement with the Municipality of Procida and the Civic Museum of Procida ‘Sebastiano Tusa’. Scholars involved in the various Italian archaeological missions Italian working abroad and co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation were also present, in addition to representatives of universities and national protection and research institutes.
The school and its history
The Training School has been active on Procida since 2015/16 and it aims to initiate young archaeologists and operators to the practice and techniques of documentation and exhibition of an archaeological excavation in the related sectors of archaeological restoration, museumization strategies and geological investigation through participation in research activities that have been taking place for years on today’s island of Vivara.
The islands of Procida-Vivara and the archaeological excavations
The islands of Procida-Vivara are, in fact, the site of one of the oldest centers in the context of maritime trade that connected Mycenaean Greece with the regions of the western Mediterranean. The traces of the Bronze Age settlement (XVIl-XV century BC) on the island of Vivara and those of the ancient port, now submerged at a depth of about 14 meters below sea level, have been archaeologically investigated for several decades. The Vivara excavation site represents a typical protohistoric excavation of ‘fragile’ typology.
The 2020/2021 edition
For the 2020/2021 academic year edition too, still strongly conditioned by the restrictions imposed by COVID19, it was decided to experiment with an online modality of the event that allowed students to participate in an interactive way, while maintaining a scientifically stimulating and informative approach, and preventing unnecessary exposures. The main theme of this edition was represented by maritime and underwater archaeology, a research sector that saw the contribution of two great scholars, Sebastiano Tusa and Claudio Mocchegiani Carpano, recently passed away.
The training course was dedicated to a wide audience of operators, graduate or specialized students of the cultural heritage sector, particularly interested in learning and practicing archaeological activities that are increasingly interconnected with new technologies, representation strategies, musealization and exhibition forms. This year the School also addressed to young graduate students, involved in professions connected with Cultural Heritage, and to sector operators who are already active in public and private structures.
Scholars, archaeologists and related technicians from Suor Orsola University and from Naples Federico II, ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome, ‘L’Orientale’ University of Naples, Ca ‘Foscari University of Venice, the University of Bologna and the Stanford University actively participated in the School. In addition, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation -Directorate General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation – intervened to illustrate the activities of Office VI and the types of archaeological missions connected with the theme of the event.
