Programmes > Par auteur > Cosimo Natalizio

The civil museum ‘Museo della Preistoria di Nardò' located in Nardò – Lecce, southern Italy is a new establishment that focuses on the Paleolithic from the region, casting light on the important evolutionary history of humans documented through the occupation of sites, archaeological finds, and contexts. The museum houses artifacts and fossils from archaeological fieldworks of the 1960's and beyond originating from a series of caves in the Portoselvaggio and Palude del Capitano Park. The materials are a testament to nearly 100,000 years of Homo neanderthalensis and H. Sapiens occupation, including a find of enormous importance: one of the oldest fossils of Homo sapiens in Eurasia. In collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio Brindisi Lecce e Taranto (Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Brindisi, Lecce, and Taranto), this project aims to work on three converging areas: research, conservation and public outreach in both the museum and the Park with an ultimate objective to sustainably manage the heritage for social and economic developments of this region. Through this endeavor, the museum becomes a laboratory for the ancient landscapes, mostly built upon the interactions between researchers, the museum, local entrepreneurs, and visitors.