Il tema del progetto di ricerca è lo studio della pittura romana nell’area della Cisalpina orientale, con particolare riferimento alle problematiche connesse alla definizione dei processi formativi e delle peculiarità delle maestranze. L’ambito geografico considerato è compreso tra Altino e Trieste: all’interno di questo comparto territoriale Aquileia e Altino hanno costituito i due ambiti privilegiati della ricerca, anche per la possibilità di condurre un’indagine rigorosa su tutto il materiale pittorico conservato presso i Musei Archeologici. L’esame autoptico condotto con un approccio metodologico volto a considerare il supporto e la superficie dipinta è stato incrociato con l’analisi delle fonti documentarie inedite, che nel caso di Aquileia hanno rappresentato un imprescindibile strumento per la restituzione dei contesti: sono stati riqualificate nel senso topografico alcune partizioni edite, che assieme a numerose altre inedite vanno a restituire una nuova immagine alle abitazioni scavate nel secolo scorso. Lo studio ha messo in evidenza un panorama ricco dal punto di vista quantitativo che ho offerto significativi spunti di analisi sui caratteri della produzione, soprattutto nell’ottica del riconoscimento delle peculiarità regionali elaborate dalle officine pittoriche operanti sul territorio. / The subject of this research project is the study of Roman wall-painting in eastern Cisalpine Gaul, more specifically dealing with the aspects of the creation and development of the local workshops and their peculiar characteristics. The area taken into consideration is set between Altino and Trieste: within this territory Aquileia and Altino have represented the two privileged research fields, given the possibility to analyse thoroughly all the wall-painting evidence preserved in the Archaeological Museums. Direct examination, conducted with a specific attention to the plaster bearer and the painted surface, has been combined with the analysis of unpublished documentation which, in the case of Aquileia, has represented an indispensable instrument for the reconstruction of the original contexts. In this way it has been possible to re-define topographically some well known examples of wall-paintings which, together with many yet unpublished examples, contribute to give a new image of the private houses excavated during the last century. This research has revealed an outline very rich in respect of the quantities and which has offered interesting starting points for the analysis of the different aspects of the production, specifically aimed to the recognition of local peculiarities developed by the workshops operating in this area.

Ce projet vise à reconstruire le développement du portrait peint à Rome et l’utilisation de ce type de support figuré à Rome, à partir de la République jusqu’à la fin du IIIe siècle après J.C. Le portrait peint dans l’art romain suit les changements culturels et les limites de l’Empire, en se mêlant avec des traditions artistiques de différentes aires culturelles. L’étude de ce sujet, qui présente de profondes difficultés, est souvent considéré à tort comme un sous-argument de la thématique du portrait statuaire à Rome. Or le portrait peint mérite une étude comme sujet indépendant car, dans l’Antiquité, la peinture a été « l’arte guida ». La peinture ancienne est aujourd’hui peu connue car la plupart des œuvres ont été perdues, ce qui rend le portrait peint difficile à reconstruire. Le manque de sources archéologiques relatives à la genèse de cette forme d'art est comblé par certaines sources littéraires grecques et romaines. Pour la période impériale, les témoignages archéologiques sont plus abondants, comme dans le cas des portraits du Fayoum, qui, cependant, sont limités à la province de l'Egypte, ou des fresques trouvées dans un certain nombre de sites archéologiques importants en Méditerranée (les plus précieux ont été trouvés à Herculanum, Pompéi et Stabies, mais aussi en Syrie). / This project aims to reconstruct the development of painting portraits in Rome and the use of these types of image employed for Romans, from the Republic until the end of the third century AD. The portrait painted in Roman art follows the cultural changes and the limits of the Empire, mingling with artistic traditions from different cultural areas. The study of this subject, which presents profound difficulties, is often wrongly considered as a sub-argument of the theme of the statuary portrait in Rome. The painted portrait deserves a study as an independent subject because in Antiquity the painting was "l’arte guida". The old painting is now little known because most of the works have been lost and it makes the painted portrait difficult to reconstruct. The lack of archaeological sources relating to the genesis of this art form is filled by some Greek and Roman literary sources. For the imperial period archaeological evidence is more abundant, as in the case of Fayum portraits, which, however, are limited to the province of Egypt, or frescoes found in several important archaeological sites in the Mediterranean (the more valuable were found at Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabies, but also in Syria).