Linee metodologiche per lo studio dei mosaici parietali perduti del Medioevo italiano: il progetto ME.MO.R.I.A.

The aim of this paper is to present the project ME.MO.R.I.A. (MEdieval mural MOsaics in Italy: Rediscovering In Absentia - material, figurative and written traces), funded by the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice as part of the two-year SPIN (Supporting Principal Investigators) research programme (2021-2023). The purpose of this research is to create a corpus on the memory of the lost wall mosaics of the Italian Middle Ages, which can be deduced from material survivals (erratic tesserae and larger or smaller fragments), written and iconographic sources, more or less rich in content. At the present stage of research, the number of recorded testimonies has reached 200, but the number is rapidly increasing, since the bibliographical research, the field studies and the archival research are still in progress. The focus is on the creation of a database. For each case, a file template with thematic fields and sub-fields is provided, useful for collecting a wide range of information: “Inventory” (title of the file, number, identification of the creator); “Contextualisation”(dating, original context, artistic commission); “Material characteristics” (polychromy, precious metals, glass, etc.). ); “Levels of loss” (degree of knowledge of the missing mosaic, unit of loss, period and causes of disappearance); “Documentation” (bibliography, written and pictorial sources, published and unpublished); “Semantic contents” of the work, if known (iconography, inscriptions) and “Interpretative summary” (critical-descriptive notes and possible graphic representations).