Epigrafia e città tra la tarda antichità e l'alto medioevo

The role of epigraphy between late Antiquity and early Middle Age decreases in drastic way. In the ancient town writings were shown everywhere and, with different functions, were in public and private spaces; in early Middle Age they become rarer and survive mainly in churches. However, the most important functions exerted by ancient forms of communication on durable material add up to the epigraphy of that time: in particular epitaphs become full of different meanings that are over the necessity of communicating the memories of the dead. Religious, political, ideological, narrative and commemorative messages mix up in epitaphs. This article studies the role played by shown writings in urban spaces and how they were understood and considered