Archeologia urbana a Ravenna negli anni della Prima Guerra Mondiale. Lo scavo di Giuseppe Gerola a S. Agata maggiore

The figure of Giuseppe Gerola is particularly important for the archaeology of the early twentieth century in Ravenna, becoming a full member of the protagonists of the long pro-German cultural season. In 1913 he was commissioned by Corrado Ricci, who had already proceeded to demolish the building that had hitherto occluded the view of the facade of the church of Sant’Agata Maggiore, to undertake the archaeological investigation of the area. The excavations, carried out in the context of demolition and restoration works, proceeded until 1916 and were carefully documented, but have so far been completely neglected. The stone materials found, partly registered, represent a set of extraordinary importance for the knowledge of the Ravenna social-environmental framework between the fifth and seventh centuries. Here, attention was paid in particular to the reconstruction of the stratigraphic sequence, which allows to articulate in a sufficiently precise way the life phases of the cemetery area and of the building that has arisen.