La cristianizzazione del Dodecaneso. Chiesa, società ed evergetismo attraverso la documentazione archeologica ed epigrafica.

In Late Antiquity, the Aegean Islands enjoyed a period of economic prosperity due to their geographical position and their leading role in the long-distance exchange of goods across the Mediterranean sea. In this period, two of the factors that influenced the artistic and monumental development of the region were the spread of Christianity and the creation of an ecclesiastical hierarchy able to handle the economic surplus and to mobilize resources for the construction and the decoration of numerous ecclesiastical buildings that mark the island territory. Since 2007, the University of Bologna has carried out an archaeological mission on the island of Kos in order to study the early christian buildings found during the Italian domination of the Dodecanese. Within this research, a general reconsideration of the Christianization process of the entire region (IV-VII sec.) has become necessary. Through a new analysis of archaeological and epigraphic sources and a catalog of about 217 early Christian basilicas, this project will outline the features of the Christianization of the Dodecanese, based on the monumental evidence analyzed, by maintaining a comparative look on the Mediterranean contexts in order to find regional peculiarities and external cultural influences.