AdriContArch
Architectural Culture of the Contact Regions in the Early Modern Adriatic

About

The Architectural Culture of the Contact Regions in the Early Modern Adriatic (AdriContArch) project investigates the architectural culture of Early Modern contact regions along the Adriatic, focusing on the regions of Friuli and the Marche. These areas – shaped by fluid political, religious, and cultural boundaries – serve as fertile ground for exploring how architecture mediated the exchange of ideas, materials, and styles across regions historically considered peripheral. The project challenges traditional centre-periphery models by proposing the 'contact region' as a dynamic zone of interaction rather than a passive recipient of influence.

Closely aligned with the ERC-funded AdriArchCult (Architectural Culture of the Early Modern Eastern Adriatic), which studies the Eastern Adriatic (Istria and Dalmatia), AdriContArch provides a critical western counterpart, thereby fostering a balanced, comparative framework. Drawing on interdisciplinary methodologies, including archival research, urban analysis, and GIS mapping, the project examines how builders, patrons, and institutions navigated overlapping sovereignties and circulating knowledge systems. It emphasizes the movement of architectural agents such as Giorgio Dalmata and Giorgio Massari, whose careers spanned both sides of the Adriatic.

A team of postdoctoral fellows and a PhD candidate will conduct research within the broader regional contexts of Friuli and the Marche, focusing on key architectural markets, hubs of knowledge transfer, and the mobility of practitioners. The broader aim is to redefine regional identity-making processes through architecture, moving beyond nationalist or stylistic historiographies. Ultimately, the project seeks to position Italy as a leader in the study of European contact zones, offering a replicable paradigm for similar regions such as Apulia or Tyrol.

Activities

  • 13/10/2025 - Baroque Art and Architecture in Slovenia: Migrations, Transfers, Contacts, and Networks, Ljubljana and Brežice
    Cristiano Guarneri presented the paper ‘The Auersperg Album of Architectural Prints: From Classical Rome through Renaissance Antiquarianism to Baroque Carniola’ at the international conference Baroque Art and Architecture in Slovenia: Migrations, Transfers, Contacts, and Networks, held in Ljubljana and Brežice, 13-15 October 2025.
  • 3/09/2025 - Rathäuser in Europa: Decken- und Wandmalerei 1500-1800, Nürnberg
    Martina Frank presented her paper ‘Lokale Räte in den Städten der Terra Ferma der Republik Venedig: der Salone del Parlamento in Udine’ at the conference Rathäuser in Europa: Decken- und Wandmalerei 1500-1800, organised by the Corpus der barocken Deckenmalerei in Deutschland (CbDD) of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, held in Nürnberg, 3-5 September 2025.
  • 14/07-14/08/2025 - Research Library Grant, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles
    Cristiano Guarneri was awarded a Research Library Grant from the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles for his project entitled ‘The Auersperg Album of Architectural Prints: Composition, Origin, Making’.
  • 3/07/2025 - Society of Renaissance Studies Biennial Conference, Bristol
    AdriArchCult and AdriContArch team members presented their papers at two project-related panels 'Around and Beyond the Adriatic: Triangulating Artistic Interconnections (1400-1750)' held at the SRS Biennial Conference: Interconnections, in Bristol.
  • 12/06-07/12/2025 - Barok v Sloveniji: arhitektura in uporabna umetnost, Ljubljana
    Cristiano Guarneri contributed a selection of five early printed architectural books to the exhibition ‘Barok v Sloveniji: arhitektura in uporabna umetnost’, held at the Narodni muzej Slovenije in Ljubljana.
  • 2/05/2025 - Society of Architectural Historians Annual Conference, Atlanta
    Cristiano Guarneri and Petar Strunje presented their papers at the AdriArchCult panel 'Architectural Culture of Public Health and the Early Modern Adriatic' chaired by Jasenka Gudelj at the Society of Architectural Historians 78th Annual International Conference, held in Atlanta.
  • 21/06/2024 - European Architectural History Network, Athens
    Cristiano Guarneri presented his paper 'Ecology of Stone in the Seascape: Stone Trade in Medieval and Early Modern Adriatic Basin' at the Eighth International Conference of the European Architectural History Network, in Athens.
file pdf 25/10/2024 - Seminar: The Cathedral of Pićan [HRV] 2 MB
file pdf 18/01/2024 - Seminar: Architettura militare [ITA] 970 KB
  • 14/09/2023 - Periphery or Regional Centres? Three Centuries of Art between Central Europe and the Adriatic (1400-1700), Ljubljana
    Jasenka Gudelj and Cristiano Guarneri presented their papers 'The Architectural Culture of the Contact Regions in the Early Modern Period: Between Friuli, Istra and Kvarner' and 'Circulation, Use, Impact: A Material-based Enquiry into the Consumption of Architectural Books in Baroque Slovenia' at the conference Periphery or Regional Centers? Three centuries of Art between Central Europe and the Adriatic (1400-1700), held at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Ljubljana.

Team

Martina Frank
Martina Frank

Full Professor, Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italy)

Cristiano Guarneri
Cristiano Guarneri

Non-tenured Assistant Professor (August 2023-July 2026), Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italy)

Margherita Mittone
Margherita Mittone

Research grant holder (February-July 2023), Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italy)
PhD student (September 2023-August 2026), Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italy)

Elisabetta Molteni
Elisabetta Molteni

Associate Professor, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy)