The Department of Ancient and Medieval Art and the Department for the Protection, Presentation, and Interpretation of Heritage of the University of Rijeka, together with the Chair of the Čakavian Assembly of Grobnišćina and the Municipality of Čavle are pleased to announce the call for papers for the 4th International Conference Studies in Art History and Archaeology of the Adriatic from Antiquity to the Middle Ages - Heritage and Communications.

This interdisciplinary gathering aims to bring together scholars and researchers to explore how material heritage, such as archaeological sites, historic buildings and cities, monuments, and works of art, serves as a medium for communication, identity formation, and cultural exchange during the Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Additionally, it seeks to examine how heritage from Antiquity and the Middle Ages is communicated today through conservation practicies, museology and new media. Material heritage plays a crucial role in recognizing and defining cultural identity. In this context, the Adriatic Sea has been particularly significant as a “bridge” between eastern and western coasts, as well as between Central and Southern Europe, and the Mediterranean. For this reason, we aim to bring together scholars from wider Adriatic region to present comparative examples of how cultural and artistic communication across and along the Adriatic influenced the formation of ancient and medieval material culture. Through examples of good practice, we hope to discuss how this aspect of historical heritage is being preserved and presented.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- material cultural heritage of Antiquity and Middle Ages in the context of historical communications, navigation and land routes
- iconography and symbolism as mediums of communication and artistic expression
- channels of dissemination for artistic forms and ideas
- art as a tool for identity formation and representation
- contemporary methods of presenting and interpreting ancient and medieval art and heritage

The conference themes are closely related to the research project co-financed by the University of Rijeka Per mare et per terram - Material Heritage in Context of Maritime and Land Routes in the Northern Adriatic. It aims to open a dialogue between scholars of ancient and medieval art history and archaeology, conservators and curators seeking to examine topics related to the entire Adriatic region.

Please send a 300-word proposal and a short CV as a single Word document to arthistoriffri.uniri.hr, no later than 30 June 2025. Selected speakers will be notified by 15 July 2025.

All proposals should also include
paper’s title
speaker’s name
e-mail
academic affiliation (if applicable)

We invite proposals suitable for 20-minute presentations. Conference languages are Croatian, English, Italian and Slovenian.

The conference fee is 80 euros for senior scholars; 50 euros for PhD students and young researchers. It includes administration and organizational costs, conference materials, lunch and coffee breaks.
The organizing committee also invites participants to contribute with their papers to an edited volume that will be published as conference proceedings by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka. Each paper will be evaluated by the scientific committee and double-blind peer-reviewed for the publication. The publication will be accessible online.

Contact:
Palma Karković and Nikolina Belošević
Department of Art History, University of Rijeka
Sveučilišna avenija 4, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
arthistoriffri.uniri.hr