Scientific Area » Selection Criteria Series
Universal Value
Proposed Statement of Outstanding Universal Value
The proposed series bears an exceptional and unique testimony to the disappeared Longobard civilization at its acme during the Kingdom of Italy (568-774 A.D.).
The Longobards created architectural and monumental forms – which were completely alien to the traditions of nomad and semi-nomad peoples – on the Italian territory only, thanks to the reception, the conservation and the enhancement of the form and content of the classical and Christian culture.
The extraordinary integration and interchange between the original North Germanic culture, the local (Roman and Byzantine) culture and the contribution of the Mediterranean and Eastern European culture, is remarkably testified by the artistic and monumental expressions of the late Longobard age and finds its highest expression – thanks to its unique and exceptional nature - in the serial property.
The serial property is the creative response to the attempt made by the Longobards to reconcile diverging cultural and artistic expressions (syncretism) and stands out in the Early Middle Ages for its excellent artistic quality.
The serial site, therefore, has an exceptional and universal value as the highest expression of the fundamental historic function performed by the Longobards in a crucial transition phase from the classical to the medieval world; a transition phase which the most modern historiographical trends consider a continuum characterized by the integration of different civilizations.
The serial site exemplifies on the one hand the specificity of the Longobard culture in the background of the Early Middle Ages; on the other hand the universal nature of the contribution made by the historical and cultural group to the formation of medieval Europe. The cultural heritage of the Longobards is still alive in many facets of art, law and the Christian religion.
Varieta’ tipologica della Serie
The proposed series is not made up by homogeneous goods from the typological point of view, but rather by structures, which are heterogeneous in their function and morphology.
Those are indeed testimonies:
- of an urban culture (Cividale del Friuli)
- of military settlements (Castelseprio)
- of monastic complexes (Brescia),
- of buildings for the religious cults for the élites(Spoleto, Campello)
- of votive chapels of the Longobard people (Benevento)
- of national sanctuaries of the Longobards (Monte Sant’Angelo).
Because of the typological variety of the included goods, the proposed series does not still find similar examples in the World Heritage List.
