Area Manager » Enhancement

A more far-reaching valorisation of the traces of Longobard civilisation and culture within the network and, more generally, in Italy and Europe will be attempted by creating greater coordination and a closer relationship between the places in the network and the other Longobard sites of interest that fall within the programme for extending the network to other Italian sites and those in the Geo-Cultural corridor of Longobard migration from Northern Europe to Italy.

In addition to furthering relations due to activities for extending common knowledge, it will be possible to facilitate diffusion of the value of these sites and extend knowledge about role the Longobards had in the formation of Italian and European culture.

Connections between the various sites can be forged by creating routes and itineraries, which must be promoted in various ways: bulletin boards, publications, illustrative brochures, etc – which help to understand how the events of the Longobards can be followed over a large area and can constitute a guide
for visits and more detailed discovery by all.

This applies particularly to the monasteries that represent the points of greatest interest and where the
most important traces of the Longobard period are conserved.

Main objectives for the network activity are:

• Extending relations between locations in the Italian network and other Italian Longobard sites
• Extending relations between locations in the network and the European geo-cultural corridor

Main objectives for the single locations of the network are:

• CIVIDALE DEL FRIULI
• BRESCIA
• CASTELSEPRIO-TORBA
• SPOLETO
• CAMPELLO SUL CLITUNNO
• BENEVENTO
• MONTE SANT’ANGELO

CIVIDALE DEL FRIULI

The main goals for improvement of the heritage of Cividaleincluded in the candidacy are:

• Creating a coordination system for the entire museum offer;
• Upgrading the Monastery of Santa Maria in Valle and strengthen the role of the Longobard Tempietto in the city and in the tourist route system;
• Improving possibilities for the use and presentation of the archaeological area of Patriarchal Palace.

These three goals are linked to each other. The creation of a coordination system for the entire museum offer – that foresees the redistribution of some artefacts according to the specific nature of the various exhibition sites (the Archaeological Museum, The Christian Museum and Duomo’s Treasure) – is in fact based on two main projects: The organisation of the visiting system at the Cividale site heritage by creating a single ticket that allows the rationalisation and management of tourist flows; the creation of the new “Tempietto and Monastery Museum”, planned as part of the upgrading of the Monastery of Santa Maria in Valle.

Upgrading of the Monastery also foresees the creation of new links between the Monastery itself, the Longobard Tempietto and the city of Cividale by means of designing more connection routes between the sites, thus increasing the role of this part of the town – and the Tempietto – within the context of the entire old town centre. Moreover, the Monastery, thanks to the wealth and quality of the spaces contained therein, is suited to becoming both a "museum of itself" and a reference place for the entire town, with the creation of a Visitors' Centre and the setting up of a Multifunction Cultural Centre that will entail various levels of interest and use, such as the Archives and Document Centre, the International Early middle ages Art and Architecture Research and Document Centre and an Archaeo-osteological Archive Laboratory.

With regards to the buffer zone, the main projects are aimed at:

• Creating thematic visiting routes for the walls and the churches, with preparation of suitable educational material;
• Creating panoramic routes along the banks of the Natisone river expanding relations between natural spaces and monuments;
• Continuing to improve the quality of spaces in the Historical city centre.

The visiting itineraries to be promoted in various ways, publications, illustrative brochures etc, are also planned for the Territory in order to improve the results of the various studies carried out in recent years and to make the presence of the Longobard culture understandable, in both its specific aspects but also in order to enhance the settlement history and the structuring that they gave to the Territory.

BRESCIA

The Monastery of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia presents high standards of valorisation, thanks to its recent total recuperation and its destine as a museum. In relation to the cultural and tourist offer moreover, it plays a leading part and is constantly present in the actions and objectives of the administration of the Municipality of Brescia. Lastly, the comments and suggestions of the thousands of visitors who regularly visit the site contribute to an effective identification of the most suitable actions to take for a continuous increase in the present standards.
The next recovery of the near monumental area will guarantee the same standards achieved by monastery also in this zone; the objective of the enhancement intervention being carried out at the moment is that of creating one organic complex without interruption between the Museum of the town and the archaeological area.

In the buffer zone there are interventions of considerable capacity in progress, above all regarding the recovery and valorisation of numerous historical buildings, among which palaces and churches rich in works of art.

With regard to the Territory, priority has been given to the objective of making the numerous contexts which recently emerged during archaeological survey campaigns usable through valorisation; suitable showcase sites will also be identified for the numerous findings, in some cases in the Museums already present in the territory, in other cases to be designed from scratch.

CASTELSEPRIO-TORBA

In view of better co-ordinating the valorization activities performed in the whole Territory of Castelseprio and Torba (as per the institutional agreement undersigned by the managing bodies), the area will be reunified also physically by opening up a new trail connecting the remains on the summit plateau with the buildings in the valley. An expanded cultural offer and the enhanced availability of touring arrangements are also envisaged.

The most important valorization initiative as for the Castelseprio Archaeological Park (including the upper castrum and the church of St. Maria foris portas) consists in completing layout and opening to the public (2009) of the Antiquarium, located in the former Monastery of San Giovanni with the explanation panels upgraded by including Multilanguage texts and pictures on the monuments.
Enhanced qualification and valorization initiatives are also envisaged for the Torba complex in order to make it more easily accessible by creating new explanation panels for educational and popularization purposes.

As for the surrounding Territory, a link will be created between the individual historical, monumental and archaeological components as related to the presence of Longobards in the Giudicaria of Seprio.

SPOLETO

One of the main preoccupations of the administrative strategy should concern, other than the preservation and enhancement of its architectural, artistic and environmental assets, also the possibility of making it functional for its local population and visitors, so as to assert the idea of a living, shared, and fertile culture.

Hence, there is a need not only for the enhancement, restoration, and expansion of the already existing libraries, archives, museums, theatres, parks, villas, gardens and historic homes, but also for promoting initiatives aimed at opening these places to the public, and turning them into cultural centers, albeit in the respect of specific rules and regulations.

CAMPELLO SUL CLITUNNO

The aims of the Enhancement Plan regarding the site and its pertaining Territory are to:

• Improve the usability of the area by expanding the service offered, with the creation of a small information point and book shop;
• Improvement of the presentation of the Clitunno Tempietto with the placement of some illustrative educational panels and a copy of the monumental inscription that is now in Perugia;
• Increase of the Tempietto’s role in relation to the Clitunno river and the ancient Via Flaminia.

The Municipality of Campello is working on a project for this very purpose that will allow the monument area to be expanded, including the route of the ancient Via Flaminia, which is now of local value, owned by and the responsibility of the Municipality; this means that the enclosed area can be equipped with better facilities.

BENEVENTO

The uniqueness of the city that results from its layers of thousands of years is the starting point for highlighting action in Benevento. These actions are based on the usefulness of enhancement its heritage, principally archaeological and historical, and associating it with the services available that are directly related, such as extending the local museum system and extending the relationships between the city’s plentiful archaeology and the urban functions of everyday life.

The objectives of the Plan are:

• To coordinate management of assets in the site.
• To extend museum activity
• To valorise the urban archaeological heritage
• To improve redevelopment of the ancient city
• To extend museum activity
• To valorise the territory’s archaeological heritage
• To valorise the Longobard cultural heritage
• To extend services to those  visiting the site

The Enhancement Plan for Benevento highlights the need to take direct and indirect action on the widespread quality of a large portion of the old city, with a view to social and environmental sustainability. Many actions simultaneously involve the buffer zone and a larger portion of the city, which can coincide with the boundaries of the old city or could extend to areas in the Samnite hinterland and a vast territorial area.

MONTE SANT’ANGELO

The main objectives of the enhancement of the candidate site are:

• Optimise the museum system inside the Sanctuary (Lapidus Museum and Devotional Museum) through the realization a new museum set-up and the creation of a new independent internal route. This objective has the purposes of decongesting the Angoine staircase and determining a notable increase in the potential capacity of accommodation of the sanctorial complex.
• In-depth of archaeological investigations in the external area to the north of the Sanctuary and its museumification.
• Ordinary, extraordinary maintenance and refunctionalisation of the spaces currently available not in use next to the Sanctuary.

The three objectives are connected between them as they aim at optimising the capacity of the museum offer equipping the Sanctuary with new spaces.

As far as the buffer zone is concerned, the main projects are finalised at:

• Realising topical visiting routes to the walls and churches with the preparation of opportune didactic devices;
• Continue to improve the quality of the areas in the Historical centre.

The visiting itineraries, to be promoted in different forms of publication, explanatory brochures etc, are foreseen for the Territory as well in order to valorise the results of the numerous research carried out above all in recent years and to distribute knowledge of the Via Sacra Langobardorum which has contributed to the structuring of the Territory.