The PRArch project, funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, grant no. 2021/13066-6) and based at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo, undertakes a comprehensive study of architecture and architectural decoration during the Severan dynasty (193–235 A.D.). The initiative is designed as a five-year investigation carried out in collaboration with international heritage institutions.
The project seeks to advance our understanding of architectural production under the Severans by adopting a comparative approach that considers both Rome and four key provincial contexts: Sicily, Athens, Cyprus, and Syria-Palaestina. Within this framework, PRArch explores the dynamics of continuity and change in architectural decoration, the interaction between local traditions and imperial forms, and the hybridization processes that shaped provincial material culture. Central to the study are questions concerning the provenance and circulation of marble, the recruitment of artisans, the contribution of local labor forces, and the ways in which these factors intersected with broader political, cultural, and economic networks across the Mediterranean.
Beyond issues of materiality and production, the project also examines the semantic and symbolic dimensions of Severan architecture, focusing on its use as an instrument of propaganda and as a vehicle for the articulation of dynastic identity. By investigating the social role of architecture and its impact on the urban fabric, PRArch aims to illuminate how provincial contexts both absorbed and reshaped imperial models, thereby contributing to the construction of a shared yet diverse Severan architectural koine.
Through this multidisciplinary approach, integrating archaeological evidence, stylistic analysis, and historical interpretation, the project aspires to refine our understanding of the Severan period as a transformative phase in Roman architectural history and to reposition provincial case studies within the broader narrative of Mediterranean cultural interaction.
PEOPLE
- Leonardo Fuduli (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia – USP) – CV
Principal Investigator - Erica Angliker (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia – USP) – CV
Associate Researcher - Cristina Caggiani (Università di Catania) – CV
Associate Researcher - Lorenzo Campagna (Università di Messina) – CV
Associate Researcher - Vagner Carvalheiro Porto (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia – USP) – CV
Associate Researcher - Maria Cristina Kormikiari (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia – USP) – CV
Associate Researcher - Antonio Dell’Acqua (Univeristà di Udine) – CV
Associate Researcher - Claudio Duarte (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia – USP) – CV
Associate Researcher - Stylianos Katakis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) – CV
Associate Researcher - Viviana Lo Monaco (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia – USP) – CV
Associate Researcher - Max Limoncelli (Università di Palermo) – CV
Associate Researcher - Myriam Pilutti Namer (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia) – CV
Associate Researcher - Claudia Gradim (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia – USP) – CV
Associate Researcher - Stylianos Katakis – CV
Associate Researcher