Muri e mura, architettura e città. Cantieri e struttura urbana a Parma tra XII e XIII secolo

L'analisi delle relazioni tra cantieri architettonici e assetto urbano risulta fondamentale per definire la conformazione e lo sviluppo delle città in epoca medievale. In questo saggio, tramite l'analisi di alcune strutture architettoniche, viene ripercorso lo sviluppo di Parma tra XII e XIII secolo, nell'ampliamento delle mura e nella creazione della platea.The study of the relationship between architecture and urban planning is essential to defining the shape and development of medieval cities. This paper presents the urban development of Parma between the 12th and 13th centuries, through architectural analysis of the churches of San Barnaba and Sant'Andrea in relation to urban planning, the city walls and the creation of the platea

L’architecture romane en Piémont et dans le val d’Aoste. État des questions

Les recherches sur l’architecture en Piémont et dans le Val d’Aoste entre le xe et le xIIe siècles ont beaucoup progressé ces dernières années grâce aux travaux d’inventaire conduits de façon systématique et au développement des fouilles archéologiques. Le Piémont, qui n’existait pas en tant qu’entité géographique au Moyen Âge, faisait alors partie de la grande région lombarde correspondant à la partie nord occidentale du royaume d’Italie. Au tournant de l’an mil, les grands projets sont surtout liés à l’action des évêques et à la reconstruction des cathédrales, notamment à Ivrée et à Aoste. L’activité des évêques dans leur diocèse est également attestée par les textes et les monuments eux-mêmes, l’exemple le mieux connu étant celui de Landolfo à Turin. Les dynasties seigneuriales soutinrent elles aussi la construction d’édifices exprimant le prestige des commanditaires laïcs (Sezzadio, Suze). La reconstruction de la cathédrale d’Acqui, consacrée en 1067, marqua la maturité de l’art roman dans la région. Au xIIe siècle, on entreprit d’importants chantiers qui mettent en évidence les contacts privilégiés qui s’étaient établis avec la France, à un moment où se définissaient des zones homogènes par leurs techniques de construction, comme ce fut le cas dans le Monferrat. Research on architecture in Piemonte and Val d’Aosta from the 10th to 12th century has made important headway in recent years thanks to systematic inventories and excavations. Piemonte, which did not exist as a geographic entity in the Middle Ages, was part of the large Lombard region, which corresponds with the northwest region of the Italian kingdom. Around the year 1000, major projects are linked to bishops and the reconstruction of cathedrals, especially at Ivrea and Aosta. Texts and monuments show that bishops were also active in their dioceses, the best known example being that of Landolfo in Turin. Seigniorial dynasties also invested in buildings that express their prestige (Sezzadio, Suze). The reconstruction of the Acqui Cathedral, consecrated in 1067, marked the maturation of Romanesque art in the region. In the 12th century, important constructions reflect established contacts with France at a moment when homogeneous zones using similar construction techniques begin to be defined, as at Monferrat

An eschatological mirror: the Romanesque portal of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

A rich and long-standing historiographical tradition has explained the twelfth-century Romanesque portal of Saint-Pierre Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne through the lens of the struggle against heresy, connecting its monumental imagery with the writings of the abbot of Cluny, Peter the Venerable, specifically his Adversus Iudeos and Contra Petrobrusianos. In this article, the unusual program of the portal is explored in light of Cluniac liturgical readings, namely those transmitted by the late eleventh-century lectionary used at Cluny (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, NAL 2246), and other coeval sources. It is argued that the portal, informed by Cluniac liturgical readings, was not only conceived as a visual progression from Lent to Easter, but that possibly it was intended as a sort of mirror, in which the liturgy performed in front of it resonated and was amplified, unveiling its intimate eschatological meaning

Cities of a feather flock together: a study on the synchronization of communication between Italian cities

Abstract Due to the rise of communication technologies and economic globalization, modern large cities are becoming more and more interconnected and this phenomenon leads to an increasing synchronization in activities and communication patterns. In our work, we explore the communication synchronization between 76 Italian cities of different sizes by using mobile phone data. Our results show that both the spatial distance and the size of the city influence the synchronization: larger cities are more similar to larger cities in communication rhythms than medium cities are to medium cities, and medium cities are more similar to medium cities than smaller cities are to smaller cities. Furthermore, for all the cities' sizes we observe a drift in similarity due to spatial distance. Interestingly, the drift due to distance over similarity is less strong in large cities, that act as gateway nodes for the Italian economical system, hence having an emerging strongly connected and synchronized network, than for medium and small cities, that are more bounded to local industries. Finally, our results also show that highly synchronized cities are richer and more attractive for foreign-born population

Is social capital associated with synchronization in human communication? An analysis of Italian call records and measures of civic engagement

Social capital has been studied in economics, sociology and political science as one of the key elements that promote the development of modern societies. It can be defined as the source of capital that facilitates cooperation through shared social norms. In this work, we investigate whether and to what extent synchronization aspects of mobile communication patterns are associated with social capital metrics. Interestingly, our results show that our synchronization-based approach well correlates with existing social capital metrics (i.e., Referendum turnout, Blood donations, and Association density), being also able to characterize the different role played by high synchronization within a close proximity-based community and high synchronization among different communities. Hence, the proposed approach can provide timely, effective analysis at a limited cost over a large territory

Reading through the Pandemic: Promoting Active Digital Engagement with Text-Based Resources

This small-scale study highlights some of the challenges faced teaching first-year undergraduate History students during the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years and outlines the strategies that were put in place to address them. The article describes how Talis Elevate, an online tool that enables students to engage actively and collaboratively with digitised readings, was deployed across a range of first-year modules in History at the University of Lincoln. Feedback from staff and students is analysed, alongside user data collected by the Talis Elevate tool. The article demonstrates that a structured approach to engaging students in online reading tasks in preparation for class functioned effectively as a driver for student learning, but that some of the issues associated with engaging students in face-to-face teaching spaces, such as the reluctance of some students to contribute to discussion, were replicated online

Clinical validation of 13-Gene DNA methylation analysis from oral brushing: a non invasive sampling procedure for early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma. A multicentric study

1. Introduction In a recent study our research group described a non-invasive sampling procedure based on DNA methylation analysis of a set of 13 genes with a high level of accuracy (sensitivity 96.6%, specificity 100%) in the detection of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (OSCC) [1]. The purpose of the present study was to test the diagnostic performance of this non invasive sampling procedure in an italian multicentric study. 2. Materials and Methods Oral brushing specimens were collected in ten different italian units of oral medicine. Each oral medicine unit collected blindly 10 brushing specimens from patients affected by OSCC and an equal number of age and sex-matched healthy controls. 13-gene DNA methylation analysis was performed and each sample was considered positive or negative in relation to a predefined cut-off value. 3. Results 181 out of 200 planned specimens were analyzed. DNA could not be amplified in 4 cases (2.2%). 86/93 (92.5%) specimens derived from OSCC patients were detected as positive and 70/84 (83.3%) specimens derived from healthy donors showed a negative score. 4. Conclusions Data from multicentric study confirmed a high level of sensitivity of our procedure whereas level of specificity is slightly lower if compared to our previous study. These data suggest that our procedure may be proposed as a first level diagnostic test with the aim to avoid a diagnostic delay in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Conflicts of Interest: As a possible conflict of interest, L. Morandi and D.B.G. submitted a patent (the applicant is the University of Bologna) in November 2016 to the National Institute of 398 Industrial Property; however, we believe that this is a natural step of translational research (bench-to-bedside) 399 and guarantee that the scientific results are true. The remaining authors declare that they have no competing 400 interest