Chiese e comunità cristiane rurali nelle fonti epigrafiche dell'Italia settentrionale

[Autom. eng. transl.] Starting from the end of the seventh century, a substantial quantity of epigraphic texts indicates the importance of "exhibited" writing in the society of the time. The assumptions of so much flowering are unclear and in particular the characters of epigraphy in the early Lombard period, given the apparent rarity of the testimonies and the problematic nature of the chronological assignments. Understanding the characters of epigraphy between the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century also means reflecting on broader issues: the persistence of those upper-middle classes, literate, who in the late antique commissioned written texts to be exhibited, approaching written culture of the Lombard ruling classes, the use of epigraphy to accompany and then replace the traditional forms of celebrating the deceased, based above all on the deposition of a funeral kit.