Strutture castrensi, ricerca sul campo, rilievi cartografici. La stagione del Neomedievalismo nell’Appennino faentino

The paper highlights the period of Neomedievalism in the Apennine of Faenza (Province of Ravenna, Northern Italy), between the last quarter of the 19th century and the early 20th century. On the basis of a cultural reconsideration of the Middle Ages, the castles of the area were not only studied on the basis of sources and bibliography as before, but also visited on the field and frequently mapped. The contribution discusses the maps of three castles (Mt. Mauro and Rontana, in the municipality of Brisighella, and Mt. Battaglia, in the municipality of Casola Valsenio), analyzing their degree of cartographical accuracy and the background of the respective map-makers. In the case of the castle of Rontana, the paper compares also the maps with the factual plan of the medieval structures, as visible today after the extensive archaeological excavations undertaken here, in the last decade ca., by the archaeologists of the University of Bologna.