1,638 research outputs found
The glass of Nogara (Verona): a "window" on production technology of mid-Medieval times in Northern Italy
No full textThe site of Nogara (province of Verona, Italy) provides valuable insights into the complexities of the glass
industry in mid-Medieval times, due to its timing, which ranges mainly between the 10th and 11th
centuries AD, and to the great quantity of glass findings, mainly tableware. In the present paper, the
combination of archaeological, chemical and textural data allows us to identify production technologies
in a time-interval perceived to be a period of technological transition for glass. In particular, the frequent
occurrence of recycled natron glass and only a few glass samples made with soda plant ash indicate that
recycling of earlier glass was common in inland Northern Italy in the 10the11th centuries AD. In addition,
blue and reticello decorations were obtained by recycling earlier glass mosaic tesserae, as shown by
much Co, Cu, Sn, Sb and Pb and the presence of crystallised calcium antimonates. A few glass samples
with chemical compositions intermediate between natron and soda plant ash glass were also identified,
suggesting a gradual change in glass composition from natron-based towards soda ash-based production
technology, which prevailed in the 13th-14th centuries. In conclusion, the difficulty in describing mid-
Medieval glass as a well-defined entity, due to the great propensity for recycling earlier glass samples
which causes variability in chemical compositions, particularly those of trace elements, is clearly
documented here. In any case, this paper contributes to a new type of chrono-typological scanning and to
more detailed knowledge of glass production technology during mid-Medieval times in Northern Italy,
little found in the literature until now
A review of mid-Medieval glass from northern and central Italy: the analytical approach
No full textA review of analytical data obtained on mid-Medieval glass from various sites of northern and central Italy is here discussed, in order to provide further insights into the complexities of the glass industry in mid-Medieval times, perceived to be a period of technological transition, within a well-defined geographical context. This aim was performed by means of comparisons, using statistical multivariate methods, with major natron and soda plant ash reference groups
The transition from Roman to Late Antique glass: new insights from the Domus of Tito Macro in Aquileia (Italy)
No full textThe present paper focuses on the archaeological, chemical and isotopic characterisation of glass finds from the Domus of Tito Macro (former Domus dei Fondi Cossar) in Aquileia (Italy), dated between the 1st and the 7th century AD. The assemblage comprises both vessels and glassworking residues, including a few chunks. Aims of the study are the identification of the main glass compositions and their contextualisation in Roman and Late Antique reference groups, and of provenance of primary glass. Chemical analyses were conducted by XRF and EPMA. All the analysed fragments are silica-soda-lime glasses, produced with natron as a flux, and are compositionally similar to the Roman coloured (intentionally and unintentionally) and colourless (antimony-, manganese-, and antimony þ manganese-decoloured) groups and to the Late Antique groups HIMT, Serie 3.2 and Levantine 1. Specific compositional traits of HIMT glass circulating in the north-Adriatic area and a scarcity of Levantine 1 glass are evidenced. The presence of rare HIT blue glasses including a chunk suggests that colouring took place also at primary stage of production. Sr and Nd isotopic analyses, performed on a selection of samples, confirmed the eastern Mediterranean origin of the glasses, although with minor internal differences depending on the compositional group. Chemical and isotopic data suggest a continuity between the Roman and Late Antique glassmaking in terms of sand deposits and sand/flux ratio, although with a major change in the decolouring technique after the 4th century AD. The prompt reception of the Late Antique glass compositions took place in Aquileia alongside the persistence of earlier compositions, probably with the aim of satisfying different segments of the glass market
The glass of the “Casa delle Bestie Ferite”: a first systematic archaeometric study on Late Roman vessels from Aquileia
No full textAquileia (Italy) is one of the largest Roman cities so far excavated, and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The significant amounts of glass found in the site have suggested to many researchers that Aquileia
played a central role in glass production and trade in ancient times, although only very few archaeometric data have been obtained so far. In this context, an archaeological and archaeometric study was conducted on 62 unintentionally coloured samples of Late Roman glass (late 3rde6th centuries AD) from the excavation of the Casa delle Bestie Ferite (“House of the Wounded Animals”). Results indicate the importance of Aquileia in the glass trade. Bulk chemistry (EPMA and XRF data) evidences a compositional transition with respect to Early Roman glass (1ste3rd centuries AD), indicating changes in raw materials for glass-making. In particular, the chemical data show the close similarity between Aquileia glass and some of the main compositional groups widespread in the Mediterranean from the 4th century onwards (HIMT, Levantine I, Série 3.2), suggesting their probable common origin in the Eastern Mediterranean. This evidence suggests there was no primary glass production in Aquileia, as presumed in the past by some authors. No relationships between chemical composition, type, chronology or production technique have been observed, although the possible connection between HIMT-type glass and low-quality objects such as bottles cannot be completely excluded and must be better investigated in future research
Lettera di Alessandra
No full textUn ritratto critico dell'opera di Alessandra Carnaroli, autrice fra le più apprezzate delle ultime generazioni della poesia di ricerca. La sezione a lei dedicata, nel numero della rivista, contiene inoltre saggi di Cecilia Bello Minciacchi, Andrea Cortellessa, e Ivan Schiavone; e vari inediti dell'autrice. Il saggio è pubblicato con lo pseudonimo di Tommaso Ottonieri.A critical portrait of the work of Alessandra Carnaroli, author of the most appreciated in the latest generations of italian research poetry. Published under the pseudonym Tommaso Ottonieri
Roman mosaic glass from the Domus of Tito Macro in Aquileia (Italy): an archaeological and archaeometric characterisation
No full textDeeply coloured and opaque glass was particularly fashionable in the early Roman centuries and several studies focused on translucent deeply coloured vessels, but few of them combine archaeological and archaeometric data obtained on mosaic glass, due the high aesthetic quality of the exemplars that often does not allow sampling. The finding of highly fragmented glass mosaic samples in the Domus of Tito Macro in Aquileia (Italy) is a valuable opportunity to investigate the production technologies of these complex artefacts, by means of an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, this contribution presents the results of the archaeological and archaeometric characterisation of five mosaic glass artefacts dated to the early Roman times
Selected letters of Alessandra Strozzi
No full textThe letters of Alessandra Strozzi provide a vivid and spirited portrayal of life in fifteenth-century Florence. Among the richest autobiographical materials to survive from the Italian Renaissance, the letters reveal a woman who fought stubbornly to preserve her family's property and position in adverse circumstances, and who was an acute observer of Medicean society. Her letters speak of political and social status, of the concept of honor, and of the harshness of life, including the plague and the loss of children. They are also a guide to Alessandra's inner life over a period of twenty-three years, revealing the pain and sorrow, and, more rarely, the joy and triumph, with which she responded to the events unfolding around her.This edition includes translations, in full or in part, of 35 of the 73 extant letters. The selections carry forward the story of Alessandra's life and illustrate the range of attitudes, concerns, and activities which were characteristic of their author
Challenging the author: Gavin Douglas's Eneados
No full textGavin Douglas’s Eneados, a translation into the “Scottis” tongue of Virgil’s Aeneid, completed in 1513 and first published in London in 1553, presents, as well as the translation of the additional thirteenth book by Maphaeus Vegius, original prologues and marginal notes to the text, rubrics and articulate conclusive material. The present paper analyses this complex paratext as evidence of Douglas’s almost philological attention to the original and his preoccupation with a faithful reproduction; it is also suggested that the models for his organization of the commentary might be both medieval (i.e., manuscripts such as Petrarch’s Virgilius Ambrosianus) and early modern, as in the case of editions of classical works: the most apt example being Jodocus Badius Ascensius’ edition of the Aeneid, printed in 1501. The Eneados thus stands on the threshold between manuscript and print, and might have indicated new possibilities of use of the printing medium in Scotland, and of the value of the translation of a classical text, had history not intervened with the Scottish defeat at Flodden Fields in 1513, which put a temporary stop both to the circulation of the Eneados and to the development of Scottish printing
Cardiorenal Syndrome Type 5 in Sepsis: Role of Endotoxin in Cell Death Pathways and Inflammation
No full textBackground/Aims: Cardiorenal Syndrome Type 5 (CRS Type 5) is characterized by concomitant cardiac and renal dysfunction in the setting of different systemic disorders, such as sepsis. In this study, we investigated the possible relationship between endotoxin levels, renal cell death and inflammation in septic patients with CRS Type 5. Methods: We enrolled 11 patients with CRS Type 5. CRS Type 5 was defined according to the current classification system. AKI was defined by Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) criteria. Acute cardiac dysfunction was documented by echocardiography as acute left and/or right ventricular dysfunction leading to decreased ejection fraction. Endotoxin activity was measured by the Endotoxin Activity Assay (EAA). Plasma from CRS Type 5 patients was incubated with renal tubular cells (RTCs) and cell death levels were evaluated. Plasma cytokines levels were measured as well. Results: Accordingly to EAA levels, patients were divided into two groups: 45.4% of patients had low endotoxin activity level (negative EAA), while 54.5% of patients showed high endotoxin activity (positive EAA). RTCs incubated with plasma from EAA positive patients showed significantly higher apoptosis levels and higher caspase-3 activation compared to cells incubated with plasma from EAA negative patients, and a significant positive correlation was observed between EAA levels and RTC apoptosis levels. Furthermore, IL-6 and IFN-γ levels were significantly higher in CRS Type 5 patients with positive EAA. Conclusion: Our data suggest a possible relationship between endotoxin levels and renal cell death in septic patients with CRS Type 5. Furthermore, this study highlights the presence of renal apoptosis, the immune deregulation and the strong inflammation in CRS Type 5 patients, especially in those with high endotoxin activity
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