Reconstructing the Cassinese Matrix. A Digital Ecosystem for Benedictine Heritage (Architecture, Books, Images)
ProgettoCaRMa has two main objectives: to comprehensively study the history and culture of the Cassinese Benedictine Congregation — from architectural and
artistic production to literary and theological culture in the period from the 15th to the 18th century — and to experiment with an innovative and
interdisciplinary research methodology on a specific case study. The conceptual framework regards the monastic building as a complex and multiscalar
reality, in which architecture, monastic life and cultural production are intertwined: from the spaces of prayer (church and cell) to the cloister, extending to the
surrounding landscape. For this reason, the case study will be investigated in its nature as a monumental complex endowed with a vast and varied material
heritage (buildings, books, works of art) and intangible heritage, and will therefore be analysed in an interdisciplinary manner, following a model that can be
applied to any other monumental complex. The Congregagtion, established in Padua by Ludovico Barbo in 1419, rise to a network of over 80 abbeys
throughout Italy, with shared a common artistic, theological and cultural identity. CaRMa builds on the results of the PRIN 2022 project "Coenobium",
expanding its lines of research: to artistic and architectural culture are added library and musical culture, the mapping of monks' movements and several
significant intellectual biographies. The approach integrates "horizontal" investigations into the Congregation as a whole with a "vertical" in-depth study of a
monastery selected as a case study. The case study is the monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista in Parma (founded in 980, joined the Congregation in
1477), selected for its historical and artistic significance and its extensive library heritage. The study will include heritage cataloguing, structural analysis,
reconstruction of the original furnishings and acoustic characterisation of the spaces. All data will be gathered in a digital ecosystem based on a relational
database, linked to BIM models of the monasteries and documents encoded in TEI format. The system will be enhanced by a large language model for the
massive analysis of sources. CaRMa renews the tradition of Cassinese studies by interweaving lines of inquiry that have so far proceeded independently.
Unlike existing studies — focused on individual themes or on single monasteries — the project manages the complexity of the Congregation's network in an
unprecedented way through digital tools and an innovative approach to the digital humanities, virtually reconstructing the monastic network through an
interpretative matrix. The approach combines investigations into Cassinese culture and a vaste strategy of dissemination. The 6 Research Units (Padua,
Palermo, Bologna, Cagliari, Cattolica, Brescia) will collaborate on a research organised into five workpackages, with height milestones and monitoring
through KPIs.
artistic production to literary and theological culture in the period from the 15th to the 18th century — and to experiment with an innovative and
interdisciplinary research methodology on a specific case study. The conceptual framework regards the monastic building as a complex and multiscalar
reality, in which architecture, monastic life and cultural production are intertwined: from the spaces of prayer (church and cell) to the cloister, extending to the
surrounding landscape. For this reason, the case study will be investigated in its nature as a monumental complex endowed with a vast and varied material
heritage (buildings, books, works of art) and intangible heritage, and will therefore be analysed in an interdisciplinary manner, following a model that can be
applied to any other monumental complex. The Congregagtion, established in Padua by Ludovico Barbo in 1419, rise to a network of over 80 abbeys
throughout Italy, with shared a common artistic, theological and cultural identity. CaRMa builds on the results of the PRIN 2022 project "Coenobium",
expanding its lines of research: to artistic and architectural culture are added library and musical culture, the mapping of monks' movements and several
significant intellectual biographies. The approach integrates "horizontal" investigations into the Congregation as a whole with a "vertical" in-depth study of a
monastery selected as a case study. The case study is the monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista in Parma (founded in 980, joined the Congregation in
1477), selected for its historical and artistic significance and its extensive library heritage. The study will include heritage cataloguing, structural analysis,
reconstruction of the original furnishings and acoustic characterisation of the spaces. All data will be gathered in a digital ecosystem based on a relational
database, linked to BIM models of the monasteries and documents encoded in TEI format. The system will be enhanced by a large language model for the
massive analysis of sources. CaRMa renews the tradition of Cassinese studies by interweaving lines of inquiry that have so far proceeded independently.
Unlike existing studies — focused on individual themes or on single monasteries — the project manages the complexity of the Congregation's network in an
unprecedented way through digital tools and an innovative approach to the digital humanities, virtually reconstructing the monastic network through an
interpretative matrix. The approach combines investigations into Cassinese culture and a vaste strategy of dissemination. The 6 Research Units (Padua,
Palermo, Bologna, Cagliari, Cattolica, Brescia) will collaborate on a research organised into five workpackages, with height milestones and monitoring
through KPIs.