Presentation of the proceedings of the conference on San Genuario in Crescentino
Date of the event:
On 21 November 2026, at 11 a.m., the Piccolo Teatro «M. Càndito» in Crescentino hosts the official presentation of the proceedings of the international conference «Da San Genuario all'Europa. Monasteri e acqua, monasteri in terre d'acqua» (From San Genuario to Europe. Monasteries and water, monasteries in water-lands), held in Crescentino on 18 and 19 May 2023. The publication, edited by Professor Eleonora Destefanis of the University of Eastern Piedmont, appears in issue 19/2024 of the academic journal «Temporis Signa. Archeologia della Tarda Antichità e del Medioevo» of the Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo in Spoleto.[1]
The monastery and its link with water
The volume examines archaeological, documentary and iconographic evidence, placing the San Genuario complex within a European context that includes monastic sites in France, the British Isles, the Iberian Peninsula, Germany, Eastern Europe and several Italian regions. Founded by the Lombards and documented since 707, the monastery of San Genuario is one of the oldest monastic settlements in north-western Italy. The study highlights how water was a crucial resource not only for liturgy and spirituality, but also for irrigation, mills, communications and daily activities in the lower Vercelli plain, between the rivers Dora Baltea, Po and Sesia.[1]
The research project
The work marks a new milestone in the multi-year research, study and promotion project launched in 2021 through the partnership between the City of Crescentino, the University of Eastern Piedmont, the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio (heritage authority) and the Parish of Saints Genuario and Silvestro, a project also enriched by excavation campaigns carried out between 2023 and 2025. The meeting is attended by Professor Anna Rapetti of Ca' Foscari University in Venice and by the editor, Eleonora Destefanis. According to mayor Vittorio Ferrero, the initiative testifies to the value of a historical heritage able to link the rediscovery of local roots with the great cultural processes of medieval Europe.[1]
Sources
- Crescentino, al Piccolo Teatro la presentazione degli atti del convegno internazionale su San Genuario — Prima Chivasso, 13 November 2026