Law and ‘Good Practices’ in Land Management between Roman Antiquity and Today’s Reality: a Sustainable Use of Land in the Light of Roman Land Surveying Texts

The management of the territory and the prevention of environmental risks are of primary interest to scientific research and involve different disciplines competing together in the definition of effective solutions for the purpose of a sustainable use of soil. In this perspective the contribution of historical-legal and archaeological-topographical investigations must not be overlooked: in fact it could illuminate the measures taken over time but also provide an opportunity for an effective management, enhancement and regulation in present territorial situations.

The structure of several European and Mediterranean areas is sometimes still marked by the final results of the ancient organization and administration (think, for example, of the remains of the centuriation): this is why a targeted survey on the subject may be useful to reconstruct such phenomena on the base of Latin sources not sufficiently investigated (but that have for centuries been at the base of traditional western land surveying and regulation) and to find signs of such operations and successive transformations on the ground.

On this basis, first of all, the research project intends to deepen the technical-legal contents of some ancient and late-ancient works that were designed for the professional training of the Roman land surveyors. These works are found in the manuscripts of the gromatic tradition (so-called ‘Corpus Agrimensorum Romanorum’). In particular this will help highlight the strategies, both technical and legal, developed by the Romans for the management of the territory.

Secondly the project tends to show some significant examples of the influence of the Roman land management expertise both on the European tradition concerning land registers, cadastral plans and the related regulations and on the current lanscape configuration of several Italian territories.

Finally, the project aims at enhancing in a contemporary way the traditional experience in the face of present contexts often characterized by the abandonment and disrespectful interventions of the soil’s natural vocation and of the geological and geomorphological characteristics of it.

Specifically, we want to 

1. deepen the study of the ancient and late-ancient surveying works;
2. carry out a cataloging of good Roman land management practices and draw ideas to solve current problems, taking into account the factors that have transformed the Italian territory over time, including climate changes;
3. launch an awareness campaign aimed at educating the population on how to use the territory in a way that respects its natural vocation;
4. develop governance models that can allow the exploitation of these past experiences as a model of sustainable development;
5. establish a dedicated Study Center in the perspective of a revitalization of the ancient expertise in soil management for the purpose of a concrete utility for the present.

Research units:

• Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Principle investigator Lauretta Maganzani
• Università degli Studi Insubria Varese-Como, Associated Investigator Paola Biavaschi
• Università degli Studi di Genova, Associated Investigator Marco Pietro Pavese
• Università degli Studi di Sassari, Associated Investigator Giovanni Antonio Maria Azzena
• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Associated Investigator Stefano Del Lungo

Call
Bando PRIN 2020

Project duration:
36 months

Main ERC field:
SH - Social Sciences and Humanities

ERC subfields

• SH2_6 Sustainability sciences, environment and resources
• SH5_8 Cultural studies, cultural identities and memories, cultural heritage
• SH5_1 Classics, ancient literature and art

Keywords
environmental sustainability; rural land, environment and landscape; cultural heritage representation and documentation; roman law; ancient topography; Roman land surveyors