4-5 April 2022
Organized by:
EPHE-PSL, Paris (Équipe HISTARA)
Jewish Museum of Rome
University of Jaén
Curated by Sabine Frommel and Olga Melasecchi
This project is developed around the study of the architectural typologies of the three main monotheistic religions and, instead of considering them as isolated phenomena as it has been generally done until now, proposes to analyze the exchanges, contaminations, adoption of ancient prototypes and the painful and sacrilegious processes of adaptation to the new cult. Particular attention is paid to the methods of restoration, or renovation of religious buildings no longer in use or looted, a widespread practice that generally coincides with low-cost interventions consisting of removing and replacing the images, as well as changing the ornaments and possibly the furniture. In order to investigate this aspect it is necessary to highlight its trauma and subsequently to remember the desecration of religious buildings carried out over the centuries to adapt them to the religious needs of the dominant power, and therefore the distortion of some of their peculiar characteristics, and what was destroyed and what was maintained.
More information and the full program can be found here.