Tra legacy data e archive archaeology: la Villa del Casale di Piazza Armerina come palinsesto documentario

Abstract

This paper explores the emerging field of archive archaeology, reframing archaeological archives as dynamic spaces of mediation between past and present, rather than static repositories of data. Through the case study of the Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina, it investigates how archival documentation - field diaries, photographs, drawings, administrative records - reveals the cultural, social, and political frameworks within which archaeological knowledge was constructed. The study reconstructs over a century of excavations, from Orsi and Cultrera to Gentili, tracing shifts in disciplinary approaches, conservation strategies, and interactions between scholars, institutions, and local communities. It highlights how legacy data function as instruments for critical reinterpretation and collective memory-making. The ongoing digitalization project within the EU-funded CHANGES initiative redefines the Villa’s archival corpus as a digital ecosystem: a multilayered documentary palimpsest fostering access, reinterpretation, and the generation of new knowledge within contemporary heritage practices.