Dr. Antonio Dell'Acqua

I am a classical archaeologist with a keen interest in Greek and Roman architecture, marble trade, and social and economic dynamics of the ancient Mediterranean. My field of research includes archaeology of northern Italy, Rome and ancient Latium, and the Roman Levant. I completed my PhD in Archaeology in 2018 and in 2020 I published the book La decorazione architettonica di Brescia romana: edifici pubblici e monumenti funerari dall’ dall'Età repubblicana alla tarda antichità. A second monograph on the cult of Venus in Cisalpine is currently in prin. 

I have been awarded a two-year scholarship by the Fritz-Thyssen Foundation to carry on a research project on Roman Ashkelon (2018-2020). Afterwards, I was awarded with further postdoc scholarships at the Universities of Milan, of Rome La Sapienza, and the University of Udine. 

In 2023 I have been appointed Adjunct Researcher at the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Bern for the project «WaterDecor». This is a three-year research project funded by the European Commission in the framework of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions. The project involves the University of Udine (Hosting Institution), the University of Bern (outgoing phase), and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (secondment). WaterDecor plans to investigate nymphaea and public fountains in Iudaea/Syria-Palaestina and Provincia Arabia from the establishment of the Roman province until the Byzantine Period (ca. 1st BCE-7th century CE). It analyses the ways in which these water management installations were built across this vast semi-arid geographical area and evaluates cultural, social, and economic implications.

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101104972
https://www.instagram.com/waterdecor.eu/

BOOKS 

forthcoming, Venere in Cisalpina. Evidenze epigrafiche e iconografiche a nord e a sud del Po, (Coll. Latomus), Bruxelles. 

2020, La decorazione architettonica di Brescia romana. Edifici pubblici e monumenti funerari dall’età repubblicana alla tarda antichità, (Costruire nel mondo antico, 2), Roma 2020. 

Peer-reviewed 

1. 2023, Terremoti e tsunami nella Palestina romana: conseguenze e iniziative post-sismische nei centri urbani tra I sec. a.C. e IV sec. d.C., in LANX, 31, 2023, pp. 78-96, https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/lanx/article/view/21272/18892 

2. 2022, The Urban Renovation of Samaria-Sebaste (2nd-3rd century AD): Observations on a selection of architectural artefacts, in: Palestine Exploration Quarterly, https://doi.org/10.1080/00310328.2021.1980310 

3. 2021, The basilica of Ashkelon and its Décor, in A. Dell’Acqua – O. Peleg-Barkat (eds.), The Basilica in Roman Palestine. Adoption and Adaption Processes in light of Comparanda in Italy and North Africa, Rome, 133-152. 

4. 2021, Domestica decora. Elementi architettonici, mobilio marmoreo e arredi scultorei delle domus romane di Brescia, in: BABESCH, 96, 2021, 111-138. 

5. 2021, Ascalona spoliata. The Dismantling of the Roman City and the Reuse in Late and Post-classical Eras through Archaeological and Literary Sources, in: ACME, 74.1, 2021, 69-98. 

6. 2020, Il teatro di Cesarea Marittima: nuovi dati sulla fase erodiana dell’edificio, in: G. Mazzilli (ed.), In solo provinciali. Sull’architetture delle province, da Augusto ai Severi, tra inerzie locali e romanizzazione, Thiasos 9.2, Roma, 251-268. 

Recent Book Chapters 

7. 2021, The Severan Basilica of Ashqelon and its Décor, in: A. Dell’Acqua – O. Peleg-Barkat (eds.), The Basilica in Roman Palestine. Adoption and Adaption Processes, in Light of Comparanda in Italy and North Africa, Rome, 133-152. 

8. 2021, Roman Ashqelon between Land and Sea: A Brief Overview through Literary Sources and Archaeological Evidences, in J. Kamlah, A. Lichtenberger (eds.), Ancient Palestine and the Mediterranean, Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins, 2021, 269-336. 

9. 2018, Kämpferkapitelle dal Santo Sepolcro di Gerusalemme, in: F. Ciliberto (a cura di), “Tra Servizio civile e Missioni estere: il contributo dell’Italia ai beni culturali della Terra Santa”, atti del convegno (Campobasso 2014), Roma, 79-102. 

Edited volume 

A. Dell’Acqua – O. Peleg-Barkat 2021, The Basilica in Roman Palestine. Adoption and Adaption Processes in light of Comparanda in Italy and North Africa, Rome.