The aim of this Ph.D research is to provide a representative framework of the forms and role of extraurban farms and villas in Northern Italy, on the basis of accidental findings.
The research project included the systematic census of the sites starting from the publishing documentation. The data have been entered into a relational database, adapted and constantly optimized by taking into account the different features of the data needing to manage.
At the same time a GIS has been developed: it allow to compare results on a geographical basis as well.
Finally, 203 sites have been selected and catalogued, they are divided by modern regions Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, and they can be ascribed to the chronological period between second century B.C.E. and fifth century C.E.
The first part of the thesis aims to provide a consistent framework of the argument and to present the project, clarifying the criteria used, the limits and the innovative aspects.
The collected documents was then processed through the computer tool (i.e. relational database), forming the basis for further analyses.
First of all, typological features have been investigated: the analysis of the sites allowed to formulate some reconstructive hypotheses concerning the general organization of the buildings and the arrangement of the different areas or functional spaces within them. For this purpose, the data have been supported by precise comparisons with better known cases.
Once the objective features of the sites were analyzed and identified by their forms and models, it has been proceeded into a critical analysis of their functional role, which helped to identify the functional Types, distinguished on the basis of clear evaluation criteria. The conclusion is that the territory must have been occupied by a widespread hierarchical system of isolated complexes, generally developed since the Augustan age and characterized by a long continuity of frequentation, which lasted until the V-VI century CE, with renovations, plan variations and internal divisions.
The research will then provide a complete synthesis of the published data about isolated and extra-urban sites in Northern Italy, constituting a solid basis for future studies on the topic.