Interdisciplinary research project on S. Croce in Sassovivo Abbey in Foligno, Italy

The research project on the Abbey of S. Croce at Sassovivo in Foligno (Italy) started in 2012, based on the studies of Giovanni Carbonara and Lia Barelli from Sapienza University of Rome. The aim of the project was to investigate the abbey complex to understand the different construction phases of the buildings. In particular, the study was focused on the material aspects through the stratigraphic reading of the structures and the analysis of building materials. In this case, the extensive archival documentation is not detailed enough to reconstruct the history of the building phases. Thanks to the particular characteristics of the abbey and the multidisciplinary method of the research, this project has involved an increasing number of Italian and foreign professionals. Following the identification of the size and extension of the medieval church, the first archaeological excavation campaign started in 2014. It was carried out by the Postgraduate School in Architectural and Landscape Heritage of Sapienza University of Rome and supported by the Associazione degli Amici dell’Abbazia di Sassovivo (Association of the Friends of Sassovivo Abbey). The first results exceeded expectations, revealing a much more complex situation, and new archaeological campaigns were planned (2015-2016-2017). During these investigations, we had the collaboration of the Department of Cultural Catholic Heritage of the Pontifical Gregorian University, Department of Physics and Geology of the University of Perugia, the Department of Biological Anthropology of the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest and the Department of Anthropology of the Museum of Natural History of Budapest