Writing on the Margins: Graffiti in Italy (7th–16th centuries)

Project Information

Graff-IT

Grant agreement ID: 101020613

DOI

10.3030/101020613

EC signature date 7 September 2021

Start date 1 January 2022

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 2 499 731,00

EU contribution

€ 2 499 731,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO DI CHIETI-PESCARA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Graff-IT (Writing on the Margins: Graffiti in Italy (7th–16th centuries))

Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2024-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The ERC AdvGrant Graff-IT Project aims to develop a new interdisciplinary approach to the study of medieval and Renaissance Italian graffiti (7th – 16th century) as a historical source. Graffiti are meant here as a form of writing, sometimes mixed with figurative patterns, made on a surface not primarily designed for this purpose by means of an occasional tool, regardless of the technique used and beyond the writer’s dependency on an authority. In Italy, there are hundreds of monumental and natural sites preserving graffiti, most of which are still undeciphered or have been studied only marginally.

The Project, therefore, represents the first attempt to survey and investigate this immensely rich body of sources through the lens of Palaeography, with the overall goal to assert the full dignity of graffiti as written sources and integrate them into the realm of historiographical thought and practice. New in this Project is the idea of considering graffiti as but one part of their cultural context, and consequently as an essential component of the communication system of their time. Graffiti allow us to get access to the worldview of individuals in the past. This explains why the Graff-IT Project wants to examine graffiti in their multifaceted complexity (writing, image, language, and material aspects) and in relation to all kinds of written media within specific space-time and social-production frames. By doing so, it will be possible to shed more light on the nature and role of graffiti in medieval and early modern culture, thereby bringing into the focus of scholarly research a history of signs that claims its due place in the yet far too strict classification of historical sources.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first 18 months, a number of activities have been carried out, based on actions planned in the 7 WPs. Here is a list a them:
1) a “Virtual Research Environment” (VRE), based on the Microsoft Office365 platform, was adopted in order to create a list of entries and build the graffiti corpus; 2) two tools (ATLANTE Graff-IT and GUIDELINES FOR THE EDITION OF GRAFFITI), involving the work of RA1 and PD7 (cf. WP1), were created to share pre-census information, such as bibliography, archival research, surveys, photos, drawings, etc.; 3) two professional photographers were contracted to start the photographic reproduction of graffiti and collaboration with CAAM was initiated, with the collaboration of the newly recruited PD2 (cf. WP2); 4) In March 2023, the relational model for the organization of the Graff-IT database was defined and an IT company was contracted to develop the database (MODELLO RELAZIONALE BANCA DATI GRAFF-IT) (cf. WP3); 5) In October 2022, the Graff-IT international NETwork (GiNET – see https://graffitproject.eu/ginet/) was formalized and the team of experts began collaborating on the scientific development of the project (cf. WP4); 6) The study of the following cases was started: a- Devotional graffiti (Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, with the contribution of PD1 managed by the University for Foreigners of Perugia); b- graffiti of Southern Italian caves, with the contribution of PhD1 managed by Ud’A; c- Chronicle graffiti (churches of S. Stefano and S. Zeno in Verona, Lazzaretto Vecchio and Nuovo in Venice, with the contribution of PD3 managed by Ud’A (cf. WP5); 7) in September 2022 a Communication and Dissemination expert company was recruited. The Company was involved in the development of the project’s communication plan, designed the project logo and web page (see https://graffitproject.eu/) and coordinates the social media communication, in collaboration with the Press Office of the Ud’A; 8) The first two workshops of the project were organised as expected, as well as several lectures. The PI and some Graff-IT staff members also participated as speakers in several scientific dissemination events (see https://graffitproject.eu/news_events_reports/ ); 9) the first monography of the Graff-IT project (see cf. WP6 and an article have been published (https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.133537). Several other articles are now in print.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The Graff-IT project aims to develop a new interdisciplinary approach to the study of medieval and Renaissance graffiti (7th-16th c.) as a historical source, in order to allow a correct contextualization of graffiti within their space-time and social production frame. The general objectives of the project are: 1) Giving graffiti full dignity as a written source and asserting the study of graffiti as intrinsic to palaeography; 2) Overcoming the atomistic approach to graffiti, in order to identify new textualities and new languages; 3) Reading graffiti as a source for the history of devotional practices; 4) Interpreting graffiti as signs of the socio-cultural identity of people and places; 5) Exploring graffiti to change our perception of historical artworks, shifting the focus from the creation stage to its social function and use over time.

In this perspective, the next activities of the project will be focused to develop the first national graffiti survey and the related digital Archive. Other outputs are expected: 2 workshops; 1 international conferences; a documentary; publications.

The identity sign of the ERC-2020-ADG Graff-IT Project