Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance Studies

The Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy) boasts the presence of a precious and complete nineteenth-century collection of white marbles and colored stones used by the Romans to embellish their buildings and, afterward, reuse in new buildings and artworks for their high symbolic and...

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Main Authors: Giovanna Fioretti, Pasquale Acquafredda, Alessandro Monno, Vincenza Montenegro, Ruggero Francescangeli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Heritage
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/5/213
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author Giovanna Fioretti
Pasquale Acquafredda
Alessandro Monno
Vincenza Montenegro
Ruggero Francescangeli
author_facet Giovanna Fioretti
Pasquale Acquafredda
Alessandro Monno
Vincenza Montenegro
Ruggero Francescangeli
author_sort Giovanna Fioretti
collection DOAJ
description The Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy) boasts the presence of a precious and complete nineteenth-century collection of white marbles and colored stones used by the Romans to embellish their buildings and, afterward, reuse in new buildings and artworks for their high symbolic and aesthetic value. This collection, arranged by Francesco and Filippo Belli, consists of 577 samples and a printed inventory and other documents, which allowed to reconstruct the history of the collection. Another collection of 29 marble samples was donated to the museum in 2010 by the Armenise family. Both collections represent a very useful reference tool in provenance studies for marble pieces at the archaeological and artistic sites and for samples of other collections. The systematic organization of these collections and their sharing among scholars, especially through the web network, is clearly essential. The work presented here focuses on the most recent discoveries about Belli’s collection, on the results of the identification of Armenise’s marbles and stones, and above all, on the actions undertaken in recent years in order to valorize this museum’s heritage. Specifically, both collections were reorganized following novel insights about lithotypes and the provenance of each sample, a detailed database including data on each sample was created, and a website reporting information and images of the two collections was built in order to guarantee the correct dissemination of data.
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spelling doaj.art-8301ec32a8b5430094b130f15624bf182023-11-18T01:33:44ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082023-04-01654054407110.3390/heritage6050213Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance StudiesGiovanna Fioretti0Pasquale Acquafredda1Alessandro Monno2Vincenza Montenegro3Ruggero Francescangeli4Earth and Geoenvironmental Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyEarth and Geoenvironmental Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyEarth and Geoenvironmental Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalySIMA—Sistema Museale di Ateneo, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyEarth and Geoenvironmental Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyThe Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy) boasts the presence of a precious and complete nineteenth-century collection of white marbles and colored stones used by the Romans to embellish their buildings and, afterward, reuse in new buildings and artworks for their high symbolic and aesthetic value. This collection, arranged by Francesco and Filippo Belli, consists of 577 samples and a printed inventory and other documents, which allowed to reconstruct the history of the collection. Another collection of 29 marble samples was donated to the museum in 2010 by the Armenise family. Both collections represent a very useful reference tool in provenance studies for marble pieces at the archaeological and artistic sites and for samples of other collections. The systematic organization of these collections and their sharing among scholars, especially through the web network, is clearly essential. The work presented here focuses on the most recent discoveries about Belli’s collection, on the results of the identification of Armenise’s marbles and stones, and above all, on the actions undertaken in recent years in order to valorize this museum’s heritage. Specifically, both collections were reorganized following novel insights about lithotypes and the provenance of each sample, a detailed database including data on each sample was created, and a website reporting information and images of the two collections was built in order to guarantee the correct dissemination of data.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/5/213Roman marblesprovenancewebsitedatabasecollectioncatalog
spellingShingle Giovanna Fioretti
Pasquale Acquafredda
Alessandro Monno
Vincenza Montenegro
Ruggero Francescangeli
Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance Studies
Heritage
Roman marbles
provenance
website
database
collection
catalog
title Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance Studies
title_full Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance Studies
title_fullStr Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance Studies
title_full_unstemmed Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance Studies
title_short Roman Marble Collections in the Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy): A Valuable Heritage to Support Provenance Studies
title_sort roman marble collections in the earth sciences museum of the university of bari italy a valuable heritage to support provenance studies
topic Roman marbles
provenance
website
database
collection
catalog
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/5/213
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