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Culture Heritage in Danger: Archaeology and Communities in Sicily during the Second World War (1940–45)

Project description

Sicilian archaeology and cultural heritage during World War II

The Second World War threatened the archaeological and cultural heritage of the countries involved in military operations. Bombing and ground operations in Sicily affected archaeological and cultural sites. The EU-funded SICILYWAR project will reconstruct and study the acts and conflict between different factors: military forces, national authorities, archaeologists and local communities. It will study the way the authorities treated archaeological discoveries that emerged in military constructions; the interrelations between authorities, scientists and local communities; the comparison of the role Sicilian archaeology played in the protection of cultural heritage with other similar European contexts (in Belgium, France, United Kingdom, et al). The research will benefit various disciplines including archaeologists, historians, art historians and social studies scholars.

Objective

This multidisciplinary, innovative project investigates antiquities in the Second World War context in Sicily (1940–45). The island’s cultural and archaeological heritage was under major threat from Allied bombing, landing and military occupation. The project pursues to reconstruct contexts and social networks involving the national and military authorities, archaeologists and local communities, acting and ‘clashing’ in a state of war and emergency. In particular, our research aims:

a) to investigate how national, local civilian and military authorities dealt with the discoveries of archaeological finds in the area from construction of military structures by the Regio Esercito Italiano and Allied forces to the protection of antiquities;
b) to reveal how the war impacted on the cities and their populations and to reconstruct contexts and social networks involving the national and military authorities, archaeologists and local communities, acting and ‘clashing’ in a state of war and emergency;
c) to contextualise Sicilian archaeology in the wider European stage, comparing Sicily with other European contexts, where advancing war operations imposed exceptional measures to protect culture heritage (e.g. Belgium, France, UK, etc.).

In terms of methodology, all archival and archaeological data will be assessed to obtain a full historical reconstruction of events, conveyed into a GIS and published through a book and two papers. Targeted surveys would be also beneficial to trace evidence and remains of bunkers and camps at some Sicilian sites.

Our inquiry, which fully fits into the remarkable methodological pluralism of Ghent, is strongly interdisciplinary, because it embraces various subjects. They merge together in a fuller historical reconstruction and will therefore benefit historians, archaeologists, art historians and social studies experts, who are jointly interested in inspecting novel data on Sicilian antiquities, local communities and war contexts in the 1940s

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT GENT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 166 320,00
Address
SINT PIETERSNIEUWSTRAAT 25
9000 GENT
Belgium

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Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 166 320,00
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