Giuseppe Bazan | Università degli Studi di Palermo (original) (raw)
Papers by Giuseppe Bazan
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Feb 1, 2017
Sustainability, Apr 22, 2022
The Bosco della Foresta, currently also called Bosco di Angimb\ue8 or Bosco di Calatafimi, covers... more The Bosco della Foresta, currently also called Bosco di Angimb\ue8 or Bosco di Calatafimi, covers 210,90 hectares and is located on a complex of hills, referred to Cozzo Terravecchia formation (Miocene), north-east of the village of Calatafimi. The first documentary mention of this woodland dates back to AD 1393 in the municipal Diploma of Graces and Privileges (Diploma di Grazie e Privilegi) granted by the Counts of Peralta to the community of Calatafimi. The Diploma enshrines the civic right to cut trees to make plows and other farming uses, and the license to the poor to fetch twigs, without touching trees if not some dry branches, during Christmas, Carnival and Easter time. Since the eighteenth century, the forest area has shrinked. In 1846, the documents regarding a dispute between Prince of Ficarazzi and the Common of Calatafimi over the rights of civic use prove that the woodland included much more districts in comparison with present-day situation. Like every other Sicilian forest, the surface of semi-natural and natural systems (grasslands, shrublands, maquis, woodlands) in Calatafimi reached the peak of reduction during the early twentieth century, as shown in the analysis of the 1939 and 1955 aerial photographs. In recent decades, the gradual abandonment of marginal zones has reactived ecological succession processes, after the crop intensification started with the postwar Agrarian Reform and the development of mechanised agriculture during the Seventies. Currently, forest cover consists mainly of cork oaks (Quercus suber) and downy oaks (Quercus pubescens s.l.). The extension of Erica arborea shrub formations and Ampelodesmos mauritanicus grasslands is a clear indication of the continuous passage of fire. Overall, the landscape is characterized by high biodiversity both in floristic and phytocoenotic terms. A phytosociological study of plant communities has been performed to evaluate human- induced forest landscape changes in Calatafimi. The vegetation is, in fact, an accurate indicator of both the environmental characteristics of an ecosystem and the human activities that have formed and transformed the landscape. The vegetation analysis is carried out through the dynamic-catenal phytosociology methods in order to identify Land Units and the related vegetation series. Vegetation series are the result of the relationship between landscape natural heterogeneity and heterogeneity produced by humans through historical land use. Management and exploitation methods of forest resources are investigated using dendrometry and structural analysis of tree components. The absence of old-growth trees and the coppicing of woodland indicate a constant exploitation of the forest until the early decades of the last century. However, the diachronic comparison of historical aerial photographs has demonstrated a slow process of resilience and an increase in coverage values of tree layers and of surfaces covered by shrub vegetation
Plant sociology, Jul 3, 2020
Plants
In this paper, based on fieldwork and herbaria surveys, new data concerning the presence of 32 na... more In this paper, based on fieldwork and herbaria surveys, new data concerning the presence of 32 native and alien vascular species for Sicily (Italy) are provided. Among the native species, the occurrence of the following taxa is reported for the first time or confirmed after many decades of non-observation: Aira multiculmis, Arum maculatum, Carex flacca subsp. flacca, Mentha longifolia, Oxybasis chenopodioides, Najas minor and Xiphion junceum. Furthermore, we document the presence of three native species (Cornus mas, Juncus foliosus and Limonium avei) that, despite being repeatedly observed in Sicily and reported in the literature, are inexplicably omitted by the most recent authoritative checklists regarding the flora of Italy. Finally, fifteen alien species new to Sicily (including one new to Europe, i.e., Pyrus betulifolia) are reported and seven poorly documented allochthonous taxa are confirmed for the island, and for two of them, a status change is proposed. These new or confir...
University Press of Florida eBooks, Mar 14, 2023
PROJECT NAME MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural heritage bas... more PROJECT NAME MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural heritage based on traditional agrosystems (MEMOLA) COORDINATOR José María Martín Civantos, Universidad de Granada (Spain) e-mail address: civantos@ugr.es CONSORTIUM Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – CSIC – Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología Roma, Italy Arqueoandalusí Arqueología y Patrimonio S.L. – ARQUEO – Granada, Spain Centro Unesco de Andalucía – UNESCO-AND – Granada, Spain Eachtra Archaeological Projects Limited – EAP – Cork, Irland Qendra e Kerkimeve dhe Promovimit te Peisazheve Historiko-Arkeologjike Shqiptare – CeRPHAAL – Tirana, Albania The University of Sheffield – USHEFF – Sheffield, United Kingdom Universidad de Córdoba – UCO – Córdoba, Spain Universidad de Granada – UGR – Granada, Spain Universita degli Studi di Padova – UNIPD – Padova, Italy Universita degli Studi di Palermo – UNIPA – Palermo, Italy FUNDING SCHEME FP7 Framework Programme for Rese...
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Jun 1, 2016
ESP, 2019
Segnalazioni vari
Plant Sociology, 2021
Field investigation carried out by the Sicilian botanists in the last 20 years enabled them to id... more Field investigation carried out by the Sicilian botanists in the last 20 years enabled them to identify eight habitat types of high biogeographic and conservation interest, neglected by the Directive 92/43, which deservead hocconservation measures. For each of these habitats, a syntaxonomic interpretation of the corresponding plant communities, their main ecological, physiognomic and syndynamic traits and a list of diagnostic species are provided. Their classification into the macrotypes listed in the Annex I of the Directive 92/43 and the respective correspondence in EUNIS habitat classification are proposed. The habitats here described integrate those already proposed by the Italian Botanical Society, with the hope of an adequate recognition at national at supranational level.
In questo libro sono presentati i risultati di una ricerca portata avanti dagli Autori, botanici ... more In questo libro sono presentati i risultati di una ricerca portata avanti dagli Autori, botanici del Dipartimento di Biologia ambientale e Biodiversit\ue0 dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Palermo. L\u2019indagine ha riguardato sia ambienti di tipo forestale sia di tipo agricolo tradizionale ed ha messo in luce un ricco patrimonio arboreo di tipo monumentale. Significative sono le immagini relative ai grandi aceri, ai ragguardevoli individui di due specie endemiche dei Nebrodi (Pyrus vallis-demonis e Malus crescimannoi) e al faggio di Fago scuro che rappresenta il patriarca di tutti i faggi d\u2019Italia. Dopo il 150\ub0 dell\u2019Unit\ue0 d\u2019Italia non poteva mancare il Grande Pino piantato in concomitanza dello sbarco di Giuseppe Garibaldi in Sicilia
Poster at 40th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference, 30/11-01/12/2019, University... more Poster at 40th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference, 30/11-01/12/2019, University of Sheffield (UK)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Feb 1, 2017
Sustainability, Apr 22, 2022
The Bosco della Foresta, currently also called Bosco di Angimb\ue8 or Bosco di Calatafimi, covers... more The Bosco della Foresta, currently also called Bosco di Angimb\ue8 or Bosco di Calatafimi, covers 210,90 hectares and is located on a complex of hills, referred to Cozzo Terravecchia formation (Miocene), north-east of the village of Calatafimi. The first documentary mention of this woodland dates back to AD 1393 in the municipal Diploma of Graces and Privileges (Diploma di Grazie e Privilegi) granted by the Counts of Peralta to the community of Calatafimi. The Diploma enshrines the civic right to cut trees to make plows and other farming uses, and the license to the poor to fetch twigs, without touching trees if not some dry branches, during Christmas, Carnival and Easter time. Since the eighteenth century, the forest area has shrinked. In 1846, the documents regarding a dispute between Prince of Ficarazzi and the Common of Calatafimi over the rights of civic use prove that the woodland included much more districts in comparison with present-day situation. Like every other Sicilian forest, the surface of semi-natural and natural systems (grasslands, shrublands, maquis, woodlands) in Calatafimi reached the peak of reduction during the early twentieth century, as shown in the analysis of the 1939 and 1955 aerial photographs. In recent decades, the gradual abandonment of marginal zones has reactived ecological succession processes, after the crop intensification started with the postwar Agrarian Reform and the development of mechanised agriculture during the Seventies. Currently, forest cover consists mainly of cork oaks (Quercus suber) and downy oaks (Quercus pubescens s.l.). The extension of Erica arborea shrub formations and Ampelodesmos mauritanicus grasslands is a clear indication of the continuous passage of fire. Overall, the landscape is characterized by high biodiversity both in floristic and phytocoenotic terms. A phytosociological study of plant communities has been performed to evaluate human- induced forest landscape changes in Calatafimi. The vegetation is, in fact, an accurate indicator of both the environmental characteristics of an ecosystem and the human activities that have formed and transformed the landscape. The vegetation analysis is carried out through the dynamic-catenal phytosociology methods in order to identify Land Units and the related vegetation series. Vegetation series are the result of the relationship between landscape natural heterogeneity and heterogeneity produced by humans through historical land use. Management and exploitation methods of forest resources are investigated using dendrometry and structural analysis of tree components. The absence of old-growth trees and the coppicing of woodland indicate a constant exploitation of the forest until the early decades of the last century. However, the diachronic comparison of historical aerial photographs has demonstrated a slow process of resilience and an increase in coverage values of tree layers and of surfaces covered by shrub vegetation
Plant sociology, Jul 3, 2020
Plants
In this paper, based on fieldwork and herbaria surveys, new data concerning the presence of 32 na... more In this paper, based on fieldwork and herbaria surveys, new data concerning the presence of 32 native and alien vascular species for Sicily (Italy) are provided. Among the native species, the occurrence of the following taxa is reported for the first time or confirmed after many decades of non-observation: Aira multiculmis, Arum maculatum, Carex flacca subsp. flacca, Mentha longifolia, Oxybasis chenopodioides, Najas minor and Xiphion junceum. Furthermore, we document the presence of three native species (Cornus mas, Juncus foliosus and Limonium avei) that, despite being repeatedly observed in Sicily and reported in the literature, are inexplicably omitted by the most recent authoritative checklists regarding the flora of Italy. Finally, fifteen alien species new to Sicily (including one new to Europe, i.e., Pyrus betulifolia) are reported and seven poorly documented allochthonous taxa are confirmed for the island, and for two of them, a status change is proposed. These new or confir...
University Press of Florida eBooks, Mar 14, 2023
PROJECT NAME MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural heritage bas... more PROJECT NAME MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural heritage based on traditional agrosystems (MEMOLA) COORDINATOR José María Martín Civantos, Universidad de Granada (Spain) e-mail address: civantos@ugr.es CONSORTIUM Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – CSIC – Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología Roma, Italy Arqueoandalusí Arqueología y Patrimonio S.L. – ARQUEO – Granada, Spain Centro Unesco de Andalucía – UNESCO-AND – Granada, Spain Eachtra Archaeological Projects Limited – EAP – Cork, Irland Qendra e Kerkimeve dhe Promovimit te Peisazheve Historiko-Arkeologjike Shqiptare – CeRPHAAL – Tirana, Albania The University of Sheffield – USHEFF – Sheffield, United Kingdom Universidad de Córdoba – UCO – Córdoba, Spain Universidad de Granada – UGR – Granada, Spain Universita degli Studi di Padova – UNIPD – Padova, Italy Universita degli Studi di Palermo – UNIPA – Palermo, Italy FUNDING SCHEME FP7 Framework Programme for Rese...
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Jun 1, 2016
ESP, 2019
Segnalazioni vari
Plant Sociology, 2021
Field investigation carried out by the Sicilian botanists in the last 20 years enabled them to id... more Field investigation carried out by the Sicilian botanists in the last 20 years enabled them to identify eight habitat types of high biogeographic and conservation interest, neglected by the Directive 92/43, which deservead hocconservation measures. For each of these habitats, a syntaxonomic interpretation of the corresponding plant communities, their main ecological, physiognomic and syndynamic traits and a list of diagnostic species are provided. Their classification into the macrotypes listed in the Annex I of the Directive 92/43 and the respective correspondence in EUNIS habitat classification are proposed. The habitats here described integrate those already proposed by the Italian Botanical Society, with the hope of an adequate recognition at national at supranational level.
In questo libro sono presentati i risultati di una ricerca portata avanti dagli Autori, botanici ... more In questo libro sono presentati i risultati di una ricerca portata avanti dagli Autori, botanici del Dipartimento di Biologia ambientale e Biodiversit\ue0 dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Palermo. L\u2019indagine ha riguardato sia ambienti di tipo forestale sia di tipo agricolo tradizionale ed ha messo in luce un ricco patrimonio arboreo di tipo monumentale. Significative sono le immagini relative ai grandi aceri, ai ragguardevoli individui di due specie endemiche dei Nebrodi (Pyrus vallis-demonis e Malus crescimannoi) e al faggio di Fago scuro che rappresenta il patriarca di tutti i faggi d\u2019Italia. Dopo il 150\ub0 dell\u2019Unit\ue0 d\u2019Italia non poteva mancare il Grande Pino piantato in concomitanza dello sbarco di Giuseppe Garibaldi in Sicilia
Poster at 40th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference, 30/11-01/12/2019, University... more Poster at 40th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference, 30/11-01/12/2019, University of Sheffield (UK)
40th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference
Within the project “Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani landscapes” – su... more Within the project “Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani landscapes” – supported by Bona Furtuna LLC – this paper aims to reconstruct human-environment relationship in the inland of Central-Western Sicily during the Early Middle Ages through a comparative analysis between archaeological data and vegetation dynamics in current landscape (University of Palermo). The environmental archaeological record (faunal remains and anthracological/ carpological finds) has been analysed from different layers of the rural settlement (Contrada Castro, Corleone, Palermo) – excavated in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Palermo) – mainly occupied during Byzantine age and Islamic period (8th-11th c. AD). The first examination of charcoals provided the identification of the plant species selected and exploited in the surrounding landscape of the site for each chronological phase. The archaeobotanical data indicates punctual and qualitative picture on the historical vegetation of this area. The phytosociological data allowed the spatial arrangements of archaeobotanical finds within plant communities and its ecological distribution. The archaeozoological data added more information on the reconstruction of rural economy, husbandry management and its ecological environment. An integrated comparison between the structure and composition of current phytocoenoses with archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data allowed to interpret the dynamics of interaction between a rural community and its environment.
The project “Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani landscapes” aims to ana... more The project “Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani landscapes” aims to analyse the long-term relationship of landscape dynamics and settlement patterns in a Mediterranean inland of Central-Western Sicily. The project combined different interdisciplinary approaches of vegetation science, landscape ecology, archaeobotany, history and archaeology in order to diachronically understand and reconstruct the human-society-environment interactions.
From 2017 to 2019 a new rural settlement has been investigated in Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo). The excavation in Contrada Castro (1) showed a clear case of long-term occupation of a hill-top site during Late Archaic/Classical age (6th-5th c. BC) and the Byzantine and Islamic period (7th-11th c. AD).
Soils from the archaeological excavation were sampled to obtain evidences about paleo-vegetation and vegetal paleo-diet. Archaeobotanical data (seeds and charcoal remains) represent an informative source in human-environmental dynamics to collect specific data on a small scale in terms of chronology and topography (2). Furthermore, presence of edible plants as cereals, pulses and fruit characterize their use as economical resources. Unfortunately, archaeobotanical analyses from archaeological sites in Sicily are still not very common (4).
For the reconstruction of the paleo-environment and the use of woody resources from the three chronological phases of the site, a total of 239 liters of soils were analysed.
Taxonomical identification was made by optical microscopy through the comparison with the reference collection and specific atlases (4). More than 400 wood charcoals were observed, about 80% of them was identified. Thanks to comparisons with the current vegetation, so far 9 species have been identified: Quercus ilex L., Quercus cfr. pubescens Willd., Pistacia terebinthus L., Rhamnus alaternus L., Fraxinus ornus L., Ulmus minor Mill. subsp. canescens (Melville) Browicz & Ziel., Acer campestre L., Ostrya carpinifolia Scop., Populus nigra L. Identification reached the detail of genus or family in 5 cases, Phillyrea sp., Sorbus sp., Pyrus sp. and maybe one species belonging to the family of Moraceae.
The woody vegetation is therefore represented by evergreen oaks, semi- and deciduous oaks, maples, ash trees, associated with riparian species such as elm, poplar and hornbeam, and shrub species such as backthorn, terebinth, sorb and plum.
Cultivated species are mostly not represented. Despite the widespread presence of the evergreen oaks in the whole record, differences between the three chronological phases were identified, highlighting a selective use of the wild species present in the area and a specific collection of wood for the hearths. Archaeological layers from last phase of occupation of the site are characterised by the presence of pulses and cereal kernels, notably concentrated in some hearths. Their analyses allows to identify staple sources for the village and agricultural techniques in the area.
References
- A. Castrorao Barba, R. Miccichè, F. Pisciotta, P. Marino, G. Bazan, C. Aleo Nero, S. Vassallo (2018) The Journal of Fasti Online, 1-12.
- C.A. Hastorf, V.F. Popper (1988) Chicago. ISBN: 978022631893.
- BRAIN Network (2018) http://brainplants.successoterra.net/sites.html.
- D.M Pearsall. (2009), Walnut Creek. ISBN-10: 1598744720.
Aknowledgements
We express our gratitude to Bona Furtuna LLC who entirely supported this research
f L' oleastro, Olea europaea var. sylvestris (Mill.) Lehr, è uno delle componenti rappresentative... more f L' oleastro, Olea europaea var. sylvestris (Mill.) Lehr, è uno delle componenti rappresentative della vegetazione mediterranea. Specie considerata caratteristica della macchia (Oleo-Ceratonion siliquae Br.-Bl. ex Guinoch. e Drouin. 1944) si accompagna con altre sclerofille e specie caducifoglie estive con le quali forma aspetti di vegetazione alto arbustiva o arborescente (Brullo et al. 2009). Ma l'oleastro in Sicilia è anche un elemento di boschi termofili, di territori che presentano una certa xericità ambientale, potenzialmente diffusi in un'ampia fascia altimetrica che si estende dalla costa fino a 800-1000 m di quota (Bazan et al. 2010). In tale contesto, l'oleastro si accompagna con querce caducifoglie termofile, quali Quercus virgiliana e Q. amplifolia, e altre specie sempreverdi con le quali costituisce un'associazione descritta come Oleo oleaster-Quercetum virgilianae Brullo 1984. Nell'ambito di questa fitocenosi, ormai relitta e frammentaria, l'oleastro spesso si presenta in forma arbustiva e policormica, ma non mancano esempi di boschi dove è presente con un portamento forestale con chioma più o meno filata.
The “Harvesting Memories” project focuses on the study of the long-term transformation of the his... more The “Harvesting Memories” project focuses on the study of the long-term transformation of the historical landscape in a rural area of Central-Western Sicily (Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù, Corleone – Palermo). In order to achieve a global comprehension of the landscape, which we consider to be a diachronic result of the interaction between humans and their surrounding environment, our main research threads focus on socio-historical and environmental transformation. To this end we are applying an holistic approach, resulting from the cross-pollination of different methodologies: 1) Archaeological research: field survey and pottery studies allow the reconstruction of the historical settlement patterns from Prehistory to the Modern Age; 2) Archival research: the study of Late Medieval and Modern written sources (contracts, wills, chronicles) produces direct and relevant insights on the past land uses; 3) Historical cartography: ancient topographic maps and land registries, treated both from a qualitative and quantitative approach, are a rich source of information on the evolution of the layout of rural districts and their uses; 4) Potential Land Evaluation: this methodology synthesizes the data produced from the above mentioned methodologies and, given a set of known technological variables and potential uses, interpolates landscape models, together with its suitability and potential uses.
TRAIL 2016 (Training and Research on the Archaeological Interpretation of LiDAR), Chambord (Loir-et-Cher, France), 17-20 May
The project “Harvesting Memories” is focused on the analysis of the long-term transformation of t... more The project “Harvesting Memories” is focused on the analysis of the long-term transformation of the cultural landscape in a rural area of Central-Western Sicily (Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù, Corleone – Palermo).
In order to quickly outline the history of the territory with an acceptable precision, our survey aimed at covering and sampling as much surface as possible, according to time and human resources available. To reach this goal, in the research design we opted for qualitative surveys. The choice of the fields to be surveyed was based on GIS analysis — our predictive model took in consideration slope, water sources and presence of points with high visibility in the landscape —, that helped us to forecast the likelihood of finding archaeological sites in each part of the study area.
the Protohistory (Middle Copper Age/Aeneolithic and Bronze Age) and the Middle Ages (10th–12th c. AD) and 4 areas with productive structures related to the Modern Age pastoral activities.
The final goal of this analysis is to elucidate the relationships between landscape ecological processes and history of land-use change.
Following a first occupation dated to the 6th-5th c. BC, the site was re-occupied between the Byz... more Following a first occupation dated to the 6th-5th c. BC, the site was re-occupied between the Byzantine and Islamic period (7th-11th c. AD). Under the 10th-11th c. AD structures, a large square building has been uncovered, that shows two subsequent phases dated from the mid-8th c. AD to the 9th c. AD. The structures belonging to the first phase of the building have revealed traces of pottery production, as indicated by the recovery of a two chambered kiln as well as the presence of several ceramic wastes.This paper presents the material evidence connected to this recently unearthed building and discusses its implication in terms of craft production in a rural area during the transition from the Byzantine to the early Islamic period. This analysis enables us to reassess the existing chrono-typology for specific ceramic vessels, such as painted amphorae- in particular the ones showing band and sinusoidal decoration-and cooking wares recovered from this building. Moreover, the possibility to study specific pottery types in association with both a sound stratigraphic sequence –the kiln lies under the 10th-11th c. AD structures and new radiocarbon data acquired from several key contexts, provides important insights into the material culture of a rural community living in the inland of Sicily between the 8th and 9th c. AD. In addition, we will also introduce the preliminary outcomes of the geological prospection carried out to identify the raw materials suitable for potting within the area, combined with the petrographic analysis of modern clay samples. Such integrated approach enables us to gain a better understanding on ceramic craft-technology, clay procurement strategies and more broadly the consumption of household pottery in the countryside of western Sicily between the late Byzantine period and the early Islamic age, adding to our knowledge of a crucial as well as “dark” period in the history of Early Medieval Sicily.
Afterlife of hill-top settlements in Sicily between Antiquity and the Middle Ages: the excavation... more Afterlife of hill-top settlements in Sicily between Antiquity and the Middle Ages: the excavation in Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo), by
Dr. Angelo Castrorao Barba (University of Palermo); Roberto Miccichè (University of Palermo); Filippo Pisciotta (University of Palermo); Giuseppe Bazan (University of Palermo); Carla Aleo Nero (Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Palermo); Stefano Vassallo (Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Palermo); Pasquale Marino (Bona Furtuna LLC); Steve Luczo (Bona Furtuna LLC).
The development of hill-top sites or sites in at locations that are optimal for controlling valleys and defendable is a phenomenon that characterised many parts of Sicily between the archaic and the Hellenistic periods. The discovery of a new site in Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo) paves the way for new knowledge of the dynamics of settlement patterns in Sicilian rural landscapes in a long-term perspective. The first period of occupation of the elevated plateau of Contrada Castro is attested by the late archaic period probably related to the presence of a rural community linked to the exploitation of agro-pastoral resources. A shift in settlement pattern with the rise of agglomerated hill-top settlements during the Early Middle Ages is a global phenomenon that is also documented in the Sicilian landscape. The excavation in Contrada Castro, carried out with in the “Harvesting Memories” focused on Ecology and Archaeology of Sicani Mountains landscapes, showed a clear case of re-establishment of an ancient site located in hilly position between Byzantine, Islamic and Norman periods (7th – 12th c. CE). The site of Contrada Castro could reflect the dynamics of a rise in hill-top settlement in changed socio-economic contexts that marked a shift compared to the Roman villa system and the later phase characterised by the emergence of large villages/agro-towns that were probably related to Church estates. The investigation of this new rural site provided insight into longue durée patterns at hilltop rural settlements in Sicily between Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
The “Harvesting Memories” project focuses on the study of long-term landscape and settlement patt... more The “Harvesting Memories” project focuses on the study of long-term landscape and settlement patterns change – in Sicani Mountains rural district (central-western Sicily) – as a result of diachronic interactions between socio-economic human factors and environmental and ecological trends. A new hilltop site has been identified during field survey in Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo). The settlement pattern linked to the selection of reliefs and hills as places for controlling rural districts seems to have changed in the Roman age, when it was characterized by intensive occupation of low-lying lands associated with potential agricultural productivity and proximity to road networks. A shift in settlement pattern with the rise of agglomerated hill-top settlements during the Early Middle Ages is a global phenomenon also occurred in Sicily. This paper aims to show the long-term sequence of the excavation (started in spring 2017) in the site of Contrada Castro. The main evidences date back to the Middle Ages with dry-stone structures related to the Islamic and Norman age (9th-12th c. AD) resettling a place already occupied during Byzantine period (infant burial) and also by a Late Archaic/Classical indigenous settlement (6th-5th c. BC). The investigation of this new rural site provided insight into longue durée patterns at hilltop rural settlements in Sicily between Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Simplification of agricultural systems, farmland abandonment, uncontrolled urbanization, together... more Simplification of agricultural systems, farmland abandonment, uncontrolled urbanization, together with global scale drivers, determine fast and unpredictable phenomena of hydrogeological instability, biodiversity decline and identity loss. Men should hence promote socioeconomic resilience and place identity, using biocultural landscapes as a resource. These landscapes are the outcome of the historical relationship between man and nature, resulting from complex interactions between biodiversity (at all levels, including species richness, ecosystem and biotope diversity) and cultural diversity, including material and immaterial aspects (architectural heritage, traditions, customs, local traditional agricultural practices, dialectal culture). Traditional water use is one of the main defining factors of traditional agricultural landscapes, characterized by significantly multiplied and enhanced functions and by the highest degree of biocultural diversity. The integrity of traditional agricultural landscapes is an indicator of environmental sustainability, socioeconomic growth and habitat resilience. Land management and planning should promote the multi-functionality of biocultural landscapes through new interdisciplinary frameworks and innovative strategies, aimed at landscape conservation, enhancement and creative management.
The work presents a biocultural diversity interpretation of traditional Mediterranean agricultura... more The work presents a biocultural diversity interpretation of traditional Mediterranean agricultural
landscapes. These landscapes are the result of complex interactions between biodiversity (at all levels,
including species richness, ecosystem and biotope diversity) and cultural diversity, including material
and immaterial aspects (architectural heritage, traditions, customs, local traditional agricultural
practices, dialectal culture, etc.). The main theme is the traditional use of water related to traditional
hydraulic systems, which in some areas date back to medieval times. Traditional agricultural
landscapes grant a variety of ecosystem services and play a key role in biodiversity conservation. They
support the persistence of a rich heritage of cultivated plant varieties and, at the same time,
determine an ecosystem infrastructure that preserves wild animal and plant biodiversity.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/land/special\_issues/resilience\_historical\_landscapes Over the las... more https://www.mdpi.com/journal/land/special_issues/resilience_historical_landscapes
Over the last decade, the concept of resilience has established itself in different fields as a key phenomenon in the analysis of landscapes in their long-term dynamics. In fact, the landscape is continually subject to interactions between anthropogenic and natural dynamics, in which different reactions and adaptations to changes over time are produced. The resilience of historical landscapes has, therefore, been an object of interdisciplinary study between natural sciences and humanities. As we hope to demonstrate in this volume, the phenomena of resilience cannot be understood without the union of its driving forces, both anthropogenic and natural/environmental.
The aim of this Special Issue is to analyze different aspects of the resilience of historical landscapes according to multi and interdisciplinary approaches between science and humanities. How is the resilience of a landscape defined over time? How have ecological and environmental dynamics reacted to anthropogenic changes? What reaction and adaptation did human societies have in dealing with environmental changes? How can a “resilient landscape” be analyzed during historical periods of transition and change?
These general questions will be addressed in the following topics.
Resilience in land cover and vegetation changes in historical landscapes;
Dynamics of the adaptive cycle to historical changes in settlement models;
Reaction to climate and environmental changes;
Change vs. long duration in the dynamics of formation of historical landscapes;
Human–environment interactions in ages of transition.
Papers with interdisciplinary approaches between science (landscape ecology, environmental and vegetation sciences, and geomorphology) and humanities (history, archaeology, and human geography) and with a diachronic/historical dimension (from the prehistory to pre-industrial age) concerning the resilience of landscapes are strongly encouraged for submission.
Dr. Angelo Castrorao Barba
Dr. Pilar Diarte-Blasco
Dr. Manuel Castro-Priego
Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Bazan
Guest Editors
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Keywords
resilience
historical ecology
landscape archaeology
vegetation history
paleoecology and archaeobotany
human geography and environmental anthropology
world/global history
long-term human–environment interactions
landscape changes
geospatial (GIS) analyses
10th International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE) World Congress University of Milano-Bi... more 10th International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE) World Congress University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy, 1-5 July 2019
Call for Abstracts: deadline 25 February 2019, http://www.iale2019.unimib.it/program/abstracts-submission/
Symposium 46:Landscape trajectories during the long Anthropocene: dialogues between ecology and archaeology
Organizers: Giuseppe Bazan & Angelo Castrorao Barba
From the micro to the global scale, the human impact is the real protagonist of the Anthropocene across the long-term timescale. It is impossible to look at the environment and the landscape without considering the long processes of anthropic activities. The driving forces in landscape change are strongly related to historical dynamics. Changes in political regimes, social structures, economic modes of productions, cultural and religious influences – all the traditional domain of the Humanities – are phenomena entangled with many ecological and environmental factors. Understanding landscapes in the Anthropocene is impossible today without a cross-disciplinary approach. During the last few decades, the discipline of Archaeology has especially increased its focus on human-environment interactions and landscape formative-processes. Landscape trajectories can be investigated through two different points of view. Vanished landscapes are the main object of study for many " archaeologies " (landscape archaeology; environmental archaeology; geoarchaeology) and " paleo " disciplines (paleoecology; paleoclimatology; paleogeography) that aim to reconstruct the non-visible past. The second approach focuses on the contemporary landscape as a palimpsest formed by various historical layers in which evidence of the relationship between the human footprint and ecological patterns can be detected. Nevertheless, both of these approaches, one based on " hidden traces " and the other on current layered contexts, share a concept of Landscape as a complex and heterogeneous mosaic of spaces where it is possible to read both the temporal dynamics (historical stratification) and the specific characteristics of individual patches situated in various ecotopes, a series of hierarchical relationships between climatic conditions, substrates, landforms, soils, vegetation and human activities. The main aim in this session is to combine and stimulate an interdisciplinary debate between the (many) Archaeologies, Landscape Ecology and Environmental Studies in order to address the following issues across different regions all over the world. The following themes will be explored: a) Methods for multidisciplinary analysis of formation, change, abandonment and resilience in rural landscapes (from Prehistory to the Present day); b) Archaeology as an " ecological " discipline; c) Historical perspectives of relationships between man and plants (domestication, introduction, extinction, cultivation, exploitation and disturbance of natural vegetation) in forming the plant landscape; d) Anthropocene landscapes: evaluating the human impact on the landscape from historical and ecological perspectives. Contributions regarding different geographical areas and focusing on the session's key themes from Archaeological and/or Ecological disciplines will be strongly encouraged (single excavations contextualised in a wider territorial context; regional and micro-regional data from survey and landscape archaeology projects) as well as broader overviews. The papers in this session will offer a methodological dialogue between historical and archaeological issues and landscape ecology.
Studies on Medieval Sicily are currently renewed by research undertaken by different teams from v... more Studies on Medieval Sicily are currently renewed by research undertaken by different teams from various regions of Europe (Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria, Poland). Post-roman Sicily is a sort of palimpsest of Mediterranean dynamics in which continuity, transformation, innovation and resilience were connected to a wider frame of political change: role in the Byzantine State, Islamic conquest, Norman domain and the emergence of Swabian.
The challenge of approaching Medieval Sicily with this proposal is to analyse and interpret the materiality of these many 'transitions' on archaeological records.
This session aims to show the main results of those ongoing archaeological and historical works at medieval suburbia and rural sites of Sicily. It is thus intended to update traditional views regarding the evolution of this territory from Late Antique to the Middle Ages by bringing into consideration new data recovered from archaeological excavations undertaken in several sites across Sicily, new information coming from the review of written accounts and new reflections from contrasting both material and documentary records.
In particular, the session will address the following topics:
- Dynamics of rural settlement patterns.
- Suburbium between countryside and city.
- Landscape of power: churches, monasteries and palaces.
- Material culture and economic trajectories beyond the cities.
This session will be therefore a necessary space of discussion between the different European scholars currently engaged in the study of Medieval Sicily in order to compare data, results, methods and new theories.
Un Paese celebrato per il suo straordinario patrimonio artistico, da secoli meta di un imprescind... more Un Paese celebrato per il suo straordinario patrimonio artistico, da secoli meta di un imprescindibile pellegrinaggio culturale. Ed in epoca più recente ci si rende conto dello straordinario significato della realtà naturale dell'Italia, con paesaggi primigeni collegati agli ambienti nei quali l'uomo ha saputo inserirsi armonicamente. Da questa scoperta nasce il movimento per la conservazione dell'ambiente, che riesce ad esprimere una legge tra le più avanzate: essa permette di realizzare un ampio sistema di parchi nazionali ed aree protette, portando l'Italia ad una posizione di avanguardia. Le premesse per una crescita virtuosa ci sono tutte, ma negli ultimi anni lo sviluppo si arresta: la gestione diventa difficile, i costi aumentano, e soprattutto si teme lo sviluppo del controllo democratico sul territorio, che pone dei limiti allo sfruttamento e ad una cosiddetta valorizzazione. Studiosi ed operatori si riuniscono nella sede dell'Accademia dei Lincei, per discutere il senso di quanto è stato fatto finora, e quanto ancora resta da fare: un discorso propositivo, rivolto verso il futuro, sul ruolo che le aree protette potranno avere per il governo del territorio.
PCA- Post Classical Archaeologies, 2020
The city of Palermo and its surrounding valley is an important historic irrigated landscape, char... more The city of Palermo and its surrounding valley is an important historic irrigated landscape, characterized by underground hydraulic structures and by a long tradition of irrigation sys- tems inherited from the Islamic presence in Sicily throughout the Middle Ages (9th-11th century). The Islamic “green revolution” radically innovated the irrigation systems of Sicily and thus also lead to the introduction and diffusion of new irrigated crops. In Palermo’s sub- urban areas, 63 hydraulic infrastructure and drainage tunnel sites have been surveyed and classified into 4 hydraulic categories: 1) qanāts; 2) blind qanāts; 3) connected wells; 4) emerging drainage galleries. These structures, notwithstanding some doubts concerning their exact dating, seem to be typical of the Medieval period. The Norman Favara / Maredolce castle and park (12th century) is a particularly interesting case study in evalu- ating the role of Islamic heritage in Palermo valley water management and is an extraordi- nary example of how Islamic hydraulic engineering was used to demonstrate royal power. Keywords: historical water systems, hydrogeology, historical landscape ecology, Islamic archaeology, medieval Sicily
La città di Palermo e la sua valle circostante sono un importante paesaggio storico irriguo, caratterizzato da strutture idrauliche sotterranee e da una lunga tradizione di sistemi di irrigazione ereditati dalla presenza islamica in Sicilia nel medioevo (IX-XI secolo). La “rivo- luzione verde” islamica ha radicalmente innovato i sistemi di irrigazione siciliani e questo portò all’introduzione e alla diffusione di nuove specie coltivate. Nell’area suburbana di Pa- lermo sono stati indagati 63 infrastrutture idrauliche e tunnel di scolo, classificati in 4 ca- tegorie: 1) qanāts; 2) qanāts ciechi; 3) pozzi collegati; 4) gallerie di scolo emergenti. Que- ste strutture, nonostante alcuni dubbi circa la loro esatta datazione, sembra siano tipici del periodo medievale. Il castello normanno di Favara / Maredolce e il suo parco (XII secolo) è un interessante caso studio per valutare il ruolo del patrimonio islamico nella gestione dell’acqua nella valle palermitana ed è uno straordinario esempio di come l’ingegneria idrau- lica islamica fosse usata per dimostrare il potere reale.
Parole chiave: sistemi idraulici storici, idro-geologia, ecologia del paesaggi storici, archeo- logia islamica, Sicilia medievale
This policy brief summarises the MEMOLA project findings regarding the role agrobiodiversity has ... more This policy brief summarises the MEMOLA project findings regarding the role agrobiodiversity has in reactivating Mediterranean agricultural systems. Traditional varieties are the best ambassadors of the landscape in which they are cultivated. Preserving them by intergenerational knowledge transfer may be a way to reactivate traditional agroecosystems creative cycles and to improve social and cultural resiliency. The brief also presents policy development recommendations to establish mechanisms and criteria to define its values and for their protection.
The Sicilian taxa of Genista sect. Voglera and their phytosociological framework Abstract Marino,... more The Sicilian taxa of Genista sect. Voglera and their phytosociological framework Abstract Marino, P., Guarino, R. & Bazan, G.: The Sicilian taxa of Genista sect. Voglera and their phytosociological framework -Fl. Medit. 22: 169-190. 2012. -ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online.