The Sapienza archaeological dig at Cencelle has been used to illustrate the activities conducted for the European Year of Cultural Heritage, the initiative promoted by the European Union to encourage a greater number of people to discover Europe’s cultural heritageand strengthen the feeling of belonging to common European space.

The archaeological mission at Cencelle, which is directed by Francesca Romana Stasolla from the Sapienza Department of Antiquities, is currently in its 25^thyear and is funded by the Sapienza Great Excavations Programme. The project focuses on the excavation and study of the medieval city founded by Pope Leo IV in 854, which experienced an intense communal life until the mid-fifteenth century at least. Now abandoned, the site is like a medieval version of Pompei and represents a unique opportunity to learn - through archaeological investigation - about urban and sociological dynamics in the Middle Ages. 

Physical anthropologists, medicine historians, art historians, historians, philologists, mechanical enginners, physicists and geologists collaborate on the project, forming a vast national and international network. The project is also a perfect training area for Sapienza’s medieval archaeologists.