Architetture, materiali e tecniche edilizie nella villa di Palazzo Pignano (CR): le evidenze di prima età imperiale

The villa of Palazzo Pignano, in the southern sector of the ager of Bergamo, was built during the 4th century AD and then modified in the following century; this context has been the subject of recent excavation work during which older pre-existing structures have also been exposed. The proposed intervention aims to offer an overview of the new data regarding the architectural, material and technical-constructive characteristics of the structures referable to the earliest frequentation of the site. The evidence of the early imperial age is of a punctual nature, however, the exploratory essays of the last years (2016-2019) have allowed to delineate in a progressive way the presence of a facility active since the second half of the 1st-early 2nd century AD, living with continuity until the realization of the late antique villa, following renovations and progressive ampliaments. Some portions of the foundations, with a base plinth made of brick fragments, wing tiles and rare pebbles, but with an elevation composed of unbaked bricks and perishable material, can be attributed to the early settlement, as evidenced by a recent find in an exploratory essay. This finding pushes research toward the study of building techniques in poor materials and to reason about the material, dimensional, and structural characteristics of these older rooms.