Acronym

AESTHIS

Abstract

In border regions, boundaries are not defined only by lines or checkpoints but also by landscapes, architecture, infrastructure and artistic representations that materialize claims of identity and power. Anthropology has described these as border landscapes: visible markers that become enduring symbols of collective belonging through processes of aestheticization and historicization. Fascism's appropriation of Romanity, which linked the monuments of ancient Rome to modern architecture and infrastructure, provides a paradigmatic example of this strategy.The AESTHIS project investigates these processes in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol after 1915 through an interdisciplinary approach combining art history, contemporary history, anthropology and border studies.

Principal Investigator

Andrea Di Michele

External project partners

Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia (Università degli Studi di Trento)

Research Focuses

Regional Contemporary History

Keywords

Landscape history, Cultural history, History and anthropology, Contemporary History, Regional history, Border regions, Art as public sphere

Funding Type

Funded by the Province of Bozen-Bolzano / 6th call for Research

Start and end date

1 Nov 2026
31 Oct 2029