Le catacombe ebraiche di Venosa: recenti interventi, studi e ricerche

This first volume of the Judaica Venusina series is dedicated to the Jewish catacombs in the Maddalena hill in Venosa (Basilicata). It features eleven articles, divided into two thematic parts.
The first part brings together all the texts (by M.L. Nava, V. Cracolici, G. Di Pace, M. Di Lieto, M. Savarese, A. Mantrisi) elaborated upon during the conferences held in 2003 and 2009 on the occasion of the reopening of the catacombs, the proceedings of which have never been published. The texts, revised and integrated with additional information, illustrate in detail the methodologies that were followed, the research carried out, and the results obtained during the consolidation and restoration of the complex, carried out mainly in the early 2000s. Here, for the first time, among other things, new data on the so-called “Santa Rufina” catacombs make their scholarly debut, subject, in turn, on the same occasion, by extensive consolidation and restoration works. The section ends with an additional essay (by S. Mutino) in which an assessment is made of some of the conservation strategies adopted at the time.
The second part comprises four new contributions (by J. Dello Russo, M. Lazzari, G. Lacerenza, V. Muscio) presented on the occasion of a workshop on the catacombs held in 2019 at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. The texts offer, respectively, a full picture of the history of the Jewish discoveries in Venosa, from the early explorations to the rediscovery of “Santa Rufina”; a discussion on the geological and geomorphological aspects of the Maddalena hill; an excursus on the contents and characteristics of the epigraphic material found in the catacombs; and the presentation of a recent digitization of the main catacombs.