Pierres errantes. Stones journeys from classical antiquity to Middle Ages, from eastern Mediterranean to the Alps 157) (in collaborazione con M.E. Gorrini, M. Corgnati, L. Schiavi, G. Angelini, R. Afferni, R. Rosso)

The interdisciplinary research project presented in the paper involves archaeologists, photographers, art historians, restorers, geographers and petrographers. It focuses on the reuse of lithic materials (limestone, slate, marble) with which the cities of Mediolanum and Vercellae were built, as well as some monuments of the surrounding area, from the early Roman imperial era to the Middle Ages. The starting point is the study of the stones (especially marbles), also through laboratory analysis, in order to discover where the stones were extracted and what their paths were, shedding light on the commercial supply itineraries and the "chaîne de production" of sculptural and architectural artefacts. At the same time, reuse and transfer of architectural and sculptural spolia to other contexts, during the Middle Ages and Modern Age will be examined. The project proposes to overcome traditional disciplinary divisions between the classical and medieval worlds to develop and communicate a global narrative approach, based on rigorous scientific assumptions that favor the emergence of innovative and shareable questions and answers not only among specialists, but for students and the general public, throughout a dedicated website and an archive of photographic images generated by the project to support future research.