Dal globale al locale: il pellegrinaggio medievale in Toscana. Il caso della Via Francigena

Starting from the studies of artistic perception, as well as of visual anthropology and the sacred, the thesis is dedicated to the study of building and sculptural standards repeated in the selected territory. In this context there are also images, objects of worship and internal circuits of religious churches, that organize the physical performances of people. The census of the architec- tural structures establish a parallelism between the religious churches along the Francigena Route and the concept of non-lieu elaborated by Marc Augé. Both create the circulation conditions, are more or less erected according to a standard planimetric shape and relate to the road network by means of a semantic apparatus that produces an effect of recognition, acting as a points of reference for postmodern man as well as for the medieval pilgrim. As noted by Augé: “Non-place paradox: the foreigner lost in a country he does not know finds himself only in the anonymity of highways, gas stations, department stores or hotel chains. The sign of a petrol brand constitutes a reassuring point of reference for him and it is a relief to find health and food products or household items con- secrated by multinational brands on the supermarket shelves."