CONTEXT
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Last updated
Was this helpful?
The MAC (Museo Archeologico Carife) is a small yet fascinating archaeological museum: it aims at disseminating knowledge and new perspectives on the pre-Roman history of Baronia — the area to which Carife belongs.
Twenty years after its original conception, MAC opened to the public in 2019 as the result of the collaboration between the Municipality of Carife and the ABAP Superintendence of Salerno and Avellino, with the authorization of the General Management of Mibac.
In order to better understand the MAC, its history, vision, and organisation we got in touch with Flavio Castaldo, the museum director. Mr. Castaldo — who is a professor in literature and archaeologist — agreed to a meeting: we thus had the opportunity to interview him and gather first-hand information about the institution. What follows derives from his words and our research.
«A traveller reaching Irpinia will come across a number of hills and very narrow valleys. In such a landscape, the Ufita valley represents an exception: here, in fact, a flat landscape opens up as a wide valley surrounded by mountains. The richness of this territory lies in its valley and in the presence of the Ufita River. »
Carife is a village in Campania (Southern Italy): it lies 30 km away from its province’s capital (Avellino), in the historical and geographical area known as Baronia, whose territory stretches across the Apennine watershed line, between the upper and middle valley of the river Ufita.
After several archaeological excavation campaigns carried out in this area, a large amount of remains have been brought to light. These finds bear witness of human presence which go back to the ancient Neolithic, up to the Roman conquest of the area (III BC) and beyond (Hellenistic and Byzantine ages). Of course, the dense and continuous population has been favoured by its geographical position, by the proximity to the Ufita River and its flourishing valley.
«The Museum tells the history of Baronia between the VI and IV century BCE. The findings of the Roman villa expand this timeframe to the Roman age (II to I century BCE).»
The museum’s origins date back to the 1980s, when Werner Johannowsky — an archaeologist of Austrian-Swiss origins[^1] — and his collaborators led a series of archaeological missions in Samnium and Irpinia. During one of these expeditions, a necropolis was uncovered between the municipalities of Castel Baronia and Carife.
Since then, a museum was envisioned to preserve, expose and tell the story of these and other findings: after more than twenty years, in 2019, the MAC museum finally came to life.
Today, its three rooms host the rich ceramics and precious grave goods coming from three necropolises and some Roman remains from the late Republican and early Imperial age ( an artisanal complex for the production of bricks and a Roman villa).
«All throughout the VI century BCE, Baronia was a crossroad of political and economic relations between the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic coasts. By the end of this century the Samnite ethnos was born.»
Room I exhibits findings from the Castel Baronia Necropolis, the most ancient one (VI century BCE): these remains — including some beautiful, early local ceramics and weapons— witness the birth and development of the Samnite ethnos.
«The two necropolises found in Carife witness a moment of great economic and political power: the IV century BCE. It was then that the Saminites came in contact with the Romans: after engaging in pacific commercial relationships, the two civilizations eventually came up against each other. The resulting conflict ultimately led to the Roman conquest of the area.»
Room II houses archaeological findings from two necropolises in Carife: in particular, they were unearthed in the localities of Piano La Sala and Addolorata, after which they are named.
The necropolis of Piano la Sala was discovered on the bottom of Ufita valley, close to the river: it dates back to V BCE and consists of pit tombs.
The necropolis of Addolorata is more recent: it dates back to the IV BCE and is located in the upper Ufita valley — a dominant position overlooking the river. It mainly contained chamber tombs made of limestone slabs forming a room with a sloping roof (some of them featured an access corridor known as dromos).
The monumentality of these tombs — along with the luxurious grave goods archaeologists found inside— proves that they were aristocratic burials. In the IV century BCE Samnite people — and the tribe of Hirpini in particular— had in fact gained a sound economic and political power, dominated central-southern Italy, stood up to the colonies of Magna Graecia, and were about to meet the Romans — initially as commercial partners and later as enemies in a two-centuries-lasting war.
«Archaeological evidence testifies to the disappearance of the Hirpinian civilization: the Roman furnaces tell us about the moment in which Irpinia became Roman. »
Room III is dedicated to the excavation of an artisan complex intended for the production of bricks and ceramics, active between the late Republican age and the Imperial age (I BCE). This room is also used as an educational space, enriched by the presence of the 1:1 scale reconstruction of the chamber tomb number 7 (IV century BCE), one of the monumental burials discovered in the archaeological area of the Addolorata.
«Currently the exhibition is not sufficiently informative: it is the late outcome of an old project.»
As the reader may have figured out, findings are showcased and organised according to:
The location where they were found[^2];
Their date.
Although all findings are deeply interconnected (geographically, historically, culturally), no internal thematic path currently links the three separate spaces and their content.
In addition, as Mr. Castaldo pointed out, no regular guides’ service is provided at the MAC:
«Visitors are currently welcomed by civil service volunteers who have been trained to discuss what is on exhibition. […] When possible, some volunteers from Carife — or myself — welcome the most attentive visitors. The Museum is looking forward to organising a professional guides’ service, for example for schools.»
«The necropolis of Addolorata is important and interesting, since no other coeval necropolis can be visited in Campania, apart from the IV-century tombs of the amphitheatre of Capua, Santa Maria Capua Vetere.»
Despite its historical relevance, bureaucratic matters make actual access to the archaeological area in Carife problematic. While the Museum is managed by the municipality of Carife, in fact, the archaeological site is under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Superintendence. It is therefore impossible for the Museum to make any kind of intervention in the area, which is nonetheless badly maintained and not conforming to the required and desirable standards for visitors' access. However, the Museum holds the keys of the site, and opens it up for interested visitors — under the staff’s keen eye, of course. Despite being extremely close to each other (500 meters) and deeply connected, the Museum and the site belong to different and currently incompatible dimensions: «Geographical closeness does not coincide with regulatory proximity», as Mr. Castaldo puts it.
«Most of the visitors are school students: in addition, local history enthusiasts occasionally come to visit the Museum. »
Visitors are mainly students from middle and high school: the Museum management is especially concerned about the educational potential of its holdings. As we have already pointed out, in fact, part of the third room is dedicated to a tomb reproduction for learning purposes. To further enhance the educational experience at the Museum, Mr. Castaldo is looking forward to setting up a professional and specialized welcome and guides’ service for schools, despite the scarcity of financial resources.
In addition to the youngest, the museum is mainly visited by local history/archaeology enthusiasts or connoisseurs.
«The territory of Baronia is extremely rich, archaeologically speaking: currently, the museum tells about a limited chronological span, if compared to the historical relevance of the area. »
The Museum’s exhibits cover a narrow timeframe: exposed materials belong to the VI, V, and IV centuries BCE, and from the beginnings of the Roman age. Its deposit, though, stores findings from the prehistoric era, as well as much more material from the three necropolises and from a Roman Villa. Finally, the Hellenistic and Roman necropolises which have been unearthed in the surrounding area have not been studied or exhibited at all.
The University of Salerno is testing a new 3D portable scanner on some materials in the Museum. It would be possible to:
Use the obtained 3D models to reconstruct the context in which the objects were found/ to which they originally belonged (VR or AR);
Use a 3D printer to reproduce the finds, to be enjoyed by blind visitors and others.
Unfortunately, the bureaucratic and funding times are long.
Considering the archaeological richness of the territory, an archaeological walk throughout the Ufita valley and its sites has recently been organized. In this way, the visitors have not only had the opportunity to get to know the musealised findings materials, but also the sites where they were originally found. Unfortunately, no indications or signaled paths are present to guide visitors without specialized guides to address and direct them.
[^1] He was chief of the Superintendence of the provinces of Avellino, Salerno and Benevento for some years.
[^2] The locations are four: Castel Baronia (Necropolis of Serra di Marco, room one); Carife (the two necropolises of Piano la Sala and Addolorata, room two); Tierzi (locality in Carife, Roman furnaces, room three).
