I Campi Macri. Un mercato panitalico sulla via della lana

Many ancient sources mention the ovine market in Campi Macri as one of the most important of the Republican period throughout the Italic territory. The place can be identified near Magreta, a few kilometers south of the Via Aemilia and the Roman colony of Mutina, in a district famous for the quality of wool that was produced. The archaeological evidence suggests that the market has arisen under the rule of the Gauls, probably at a place of worship, and that the Romans had preserved it even after the conquest of the region. In fact, they took the place of indigenous economic structure without changing it substantially and preserving the public relevance, so taking advantage of the traditional trade and transhumance routes that through the Apennines and the Po valley connected upper Tyrrhenian to Venetia. Between II and I century BC livestock and wool trade, however, was enhanced by the sale of other crafts: first eastern pottery and then Hellenistic lamps manufactured on site. Among the Roman remains discovered in Magreta, as well as support structures and craft workshops, there is evidence of a place of worship. Connected to the fair was an important late Republican sanctuary discovered in Cittanova, near Via Aemilia, furthermore next to a factory of Hellenistic lamps. This organization of archaic type, characterized by the participation of local people and the complete autonomy of Campi Macri with respect to the nearby colony of Mutina, fell at the beginning of the Augustan period, when the economic and settlement rearrangement of the region overruled the requirements of the old market, bringing it quickly to the complete abandonment

Congenital Chagas disease in a Bolivian newborn in Bergamo (Italy)

Chagas disease (CD) is an uncommon disease in Europe. Its epidemiology has changed because of mass migration from Latin America to Europe. Herein we describe a congenital case of CD in a Bolivian newborn in Bergamo, the main city of residence for the Bolivian community in Italy. At delivery, serological analyses evidenced IgG antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi both in the child and mother, as expected. Hemoscopic analyses on peripheral blood were repeatedly negative during the first months of life. Eventually, thanks to T. cruzi Real Time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity on peripheral blood and development of progressive anemia in the following weeks, congenital Chagas disease was diagnosed and benznidazole-based therapy started. A progressive antibodies' index decrease was observed till negativity (306 days apart). RT-PCR was negative at the end of treatment. Our case is instructive and management of congenital CD is discussed from the perspective of a non-endemic country

Peter II Orseolo – Dux Veneticorum et Dalmaticorum

Autor analizira ekspediciju dužda Petra II. Orseola god. 1000. u Dalmaciju, koja je poznata po izvješću Ivana Đakona; utvrđuje nejasnoće tog izvješća o pravom značenju te ekspedicije i pri tome u prvom redu uzima u obzir unutrašnje stanje Mletaka u doba te ekspedicije; prikazuje borbu dviju tendencija u mletačkim vodećim porodicama: pristajanje uz Njemačko Carstvo, kojem je na čelu bila porodica Kandijana, ili uže povezivanje s Bizantom, za koje se zalagala porodica Orseolo. Pobijedila je drugonavedena tendencija dolaskom na vlast Petra II. Orseola, koji je u najtješnjoj suradnji s Bizantom poduzeo s mletačkom flotom pohod sve do Korčule. Taj je pohod bio Bizantu vrlo važan zbog njegove borbe sa Samuilom, jer mu je cilj bio odvlačenje dijela Samuilovih snaga na zapad, ali je bio od velike koristi i za Mletke, jer je Bizant za naplatu mletačke intervencije bio prisiljen ustupiti stvarnu vlast nad kvarnerskim otocima, pridržavajući za sebe samo formalni suverenitet nad njima. Kao daljnji primjer nove snažne nazočnosti Mletaka na Jadranu autor analizira i pomoć koju je Petar II. Orseolo pružio bizantskome Bariju 1003. godine. O toj pomoći sačuvan je dragocjen grafit na otočiću blizu mjesta Vieste na Garganu.The author analyzes doge Peter II Orseolo’s expedition to Dalmatia in the year 1000 which is known from John the Deacon’s report, looks at the ambiguities of this report and in doing so pays particular attention to the interior affairs of Venice at the time of the expedition and describes the conflict of two tendencies amongst the leading families in Venice: alignment with the German Empire headed at the time by the Candian family or closer connections with Byzantium which was advocated by the Orseolo family. The second option prevailed when Peter II Orseolo came to power, when in close cooperation with Byzantium he undertook a campaign with the Venetian fleet all the way to the island of Korčula. For Byzantium this campaign was very important because of their struggle with Samuil since the goal was to draw away a part of Samuil’s forces to the West but it was also of immense advantage to the Venetians because Byzantium, in order to pay for Venetian intervention, was forced to give up real authority over the Kvarner islands, retaining a mere formal sovereignty over them. As another example of a new powerful presence of the Venetians on the Adriatic the author analyzes the aid which Peter II Orseolo gave to Bari under Byzantine rule in 1003. A precious graphite on an island near the settlement Vieste on Gargano testifies to this aid

Peter II Orseolo – Dux Veneticorum et Dalmaticorum

Autor analizira ekspediciju dužda Petra II. Orseola god. 1000. u Dalmaciju, koja je poznata po izvješću Ivana Đakona; utvrđuje nejasnoće tog izvješća o pravom značenju te ekspedicije i pri tome u prvom redu uzima u obzir unutrašnje stanje Mletaka u doba te ekspedicije; prikazuje borbu dviju tendencija u mletačkim vodećim porodicama: pristajanje uz Njemačko Carstvo, kojem je na čelu bila porodica Kandijana, ili uže povezivanje s Bizantom, za koje se zalagala porodica Orseolo. Pobijedila je drugonavedena tendencija dolaskom na vlast Petra II. Orseola, koji je u najtješnjoj suradnji s Bizantom poduzeo s mletačkom flotom pohod sve do Korčule. Taj je pohod bio Bizantu vrlo važan zbog njegove borbe sa Samuilom, jer mu je cilj bio odvlačenje dijela Samuilovih snaga na zapad, ali je bio od velike koristi i za Mletke, jer je Bizant za naplatu mletačke intervencije bio prisiljen ustupiti stvarnu vlast nad kvarnerskim otocima, pridržavajući za sebe samo formalni suverenitet nad njima. Kao daljnji primjer nove snažne nazočnosti Mletaka na Jadranu autor analizira i pomoć koju je Petar II. Orseolo pružio bizantskome Bariju 1003. godine. O toj pomoći sačuvan je dragocjen grafit na otočiću blizu mjesta Vieste na Garganu.The author analyzes doge Peter II Orseolo’s expedition to Dalmatia in the year 1000 which is known from John the Deacon’s report, looks at the ambiguities of this report and in doing so pays particular attention to the interior affairs of Venice at the time of the expedition and describes the conflict of two tendencies amongst the leading families in Venice: alignment with the German Empire headed at the time by the Candian family or closer connections with Byzantium which was advocated by the Orseolo family. The second option prevailed when Peter II Orseolo came to power, when in close cooperation with Byzantium he undertook a campaign with the Venetian fleet all the way to the island of Korčula. For Byzantium this campaign was very important because of their struggle with Samuil since the goal was to draw away a part of Samuil’s forces to the West but it was also of immense advantage to the Venetians because Byzantium, in order to pay for Venetian intervention, was forced to give up real authority over the Kvarner islands, retaining a mere formal sovereignty over them. As another example of a new powerful presence of the Venetians on the Adriatic the author analyzes the aid which Peter II Orseolo gave to Bari under Byzantine rule in 1003. A precious graphite on an island near the settlement Vieste on Gargano testifies to this aid

Venice and Constantinople: Latin Byzantinism

Autor analizira duboku povezanost ranije mletačke povijesti s Bizantom i ističe da se ne radi o dva odvojena entiteta koji bi se postupno sve više udaljavali jedan od drugoga, već da je riječ o «latinskom bizantinizmu» u Mlecima koji se, doduše, duboko razlikovao od istočnog, ali koji je nedvojbeno izrastao na podlozi antičkog Rima i Bizanta. Venecijansko otočje, kao dio Bizanta, primilo je izbjeglice s kontinenta koji su bježali pred Langobardima, a kada je to područje ekonomski ojačalo, našlo se u nezavidnom položaju biranja između zapadne (Karolinzi i kasnije njemački carevi) i istočne (Bizant) opcije. Mleci su se, nakon kolebanja u 10. stoljeću, priklonili istočnoj opciji koja im je davala velike trgovačko-pomorske prednosti, uz povoljnu okolnost da je Bizant bio udaljen i preslab da bi mogao odlučujuće ograničiti mletačku samostalnost. Komplementarnost interesa Bizanta i Mletaka postupno je zamijenilo suparništvo, ali unatoč svim suprotnostima, mnoge, često jedva vidljive niti povezivale su i dalje jedne i druge.In his analysis of Veneto-Byzantine relations, the author highlights the Byzantine residues in the rituals and titles which survived in Venice until its fall in 1797. The author underlines that the Venetian attitude to the Byzantine Empire cannot be interpreted exclusively in terms of a dialectical relationship between two distinct entities. As a Byzantine province, Venice remained part of the Empire for a long time after its birth, with the consequent advantages of links with an economically and politically powerful area. Between the Early Middle Ages and the XII century, Venice became largely autonomous and then achieved full independence. Common interests were thus replaced by competition and conflict. The Fourth Crusade and the capture of Constantinople in 1204 marked the overturn of the former relationships and the beginning of a phase described as «Venetocracy». The author’s standpoint is that the above developments cannot properly be explained solely as the result of opposition between two different realities: Venice and Byzantium. We need to think rather of an evolving process taking place within the Byzantine commonwealth, of which Venice was a functioning part. The Latin Byzantinism of Venice and the Greek accent of Byzantium itself gradually affirmed themselves and grew apart to the point where even memory of the common matrix was lost. However, Latin Byzantinism was deeply incorporated in the genetic code of the Venetian state, and even at the fall of the Most Serene Republic practices rooted in Byzantine tradition were still in use, whereas elsewhere they had long disappeared

Epidemiological, Diagnostic and Drug Discovery Studies of an Emerging Infection: Human Leishmaniasis

Human leishmaniasis is a vector-borne diseases, caused by the Leishmania parasite and endemic in 100 countries, including southern Europe. The clinical spectrum of Leishmania infection ranges from asymptomatic to visceral leishmaniasis (VL), the latter being fatal if not treated. The real prevalence of asymptomatic infections is unknown, the diagnosis of VL is challenging and lacks standardized methods, and also antileishmanial treatment has critical limitations. In this scenario, this study aimed (1) to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic infections in blood donors of the Bologna province, where increase of VL cases has been recently reported, (2) to compare the performance of nine different serological tests in the diagnosis of VL in northern Italy, (3) to assess the antileishmanial activity of a library of newly synthesized natural like compounds, ie chalcones. (1) The screening on samples of blood donors living in the Bologna province, shows a total prevalence of asymptomatic Leishmania infection of 11.5%, suggesting a high circulation of the parasite in this area. (2) Our findings on serodiagnosis indicate that rK39 immunochromatographic tests are insufficiently sensitive as screening tests for VL, ELISA exhibited suboptimal results in terms of sensitivity, IFAT and WB exhibited excellent sensitivity, but their cost and complexity in execution would not allow their employment as screening tests for VL. These results confirm the complexity of VL serodiagnosis and reveal the variability of diagnostic performance of serological tests. (3) Screening of 33 newly synthesized chalcones on proliferation of Leishmania promastigote and amastigote revealed that 2 compounds showed a remarkable antileishmanial potency against the parasite, a low citotoxicity against mammalian cells and they also were able to efficiently bind trypanothione reductase - a specific parasite enzyme - suggesting that these compounds should be further evaluated as antileishmanial agents

Unveiling Damnatio Memoriae. The use of 3D digital technologies for the virtual reconstruction of archaeological finds and artefacts

[EN] In ancient Rome, damnatio memoriae was a practice of erasing the memory of condemned persons from historical records after their death. This practice was usually addressed by the Senate to Roman elites and emperors who were declared enemies of the State, in order to preserve the honour of Rome. This condemnation usually included practices such as, for example, the erasure of names sculpted on inscriptions and the destruction or reworking of statues and of any other image of the person. Emperor Nero, for example, was condemned to this practice immediately after his death and a wide iconographic repertoire on him was therefore destroyed or deeply damaged. This lack of information can actually be improved thanks to the possibilities of virtual restoration and reconstruction offered by 3D digital technologies.The aim of this paper is to show how the possibility to acquire 3D reality-based data from archaeological finds allows to build 3D digital models that can be analysed and managed in a virtual environment and can be relocated, assembled or restored in order to suggest or graphically support archaeologists’ interpretations and reconstructions. The paper shows the methodology developed for the virtual restoration of the statue of Nero starting from the 3D digitization of the torso that was found 500 years ago by the Roman theatre of Bologna, Italy, the ancient Bononia.Manferdini, AM.; Gasperoni, S.; Guidi, F.; Marchesi, M. (2016). Unveiling Damnatio Memoriae. The use of 3D digital technologies for the virtual reconstruction of archaeological finds and artefacts. Virtual Archaeology Review. 7(15):9-17. doi:10.4995/var.2016.5871.SWORD91771

Evaluation of synthetic substituted 1,2-dioxanes as novel agents against human leishmaniasis

The treatment of human leishmaniasis is currently based on few compounds that are highly toxic, expensive and have a high rate of treatment failure. A number of recent studies on new drugs focuses on natural or semi-synthetic compounds. Among them, the endoperoxide artemisinin, extracted from Artemisia annua, and some of its derivatives have shown leishmanicidal activity. In the present work, a series of structurally simple, fully synthetic 1,2-dioxanes were evaluated for in vitro antileishmanial activity against promastigotes of Leishmania donovani; the cytotoxicity for mammalian cells was also assessed. The six most promising compounds in terms of activity and selectivity were further investigated for their antileishmanial activity on the promastigote forms of L. tropica, L. major and L. infantum and against L. donovani amastigotes. The good performance in terms of potency and selectivity makes these six hits promising candidates for a preliminary lead optimization as antileishmanial agents