OnFoods in prehistory

Awarded to Professor Maurizio Cattani within the European Project "ONFOODS – Research and Innovation Network on Food and Nutrition Sustainability, Safety and Security"

Experimental reconstruction of a clay oven (Solarolo)
Experimental bread and cheese (Solarolo)
Experimental bread baking (Solarolo)
Experimental archaeology at Tanca Manna
Experimental archaeology at Parco della terramara di Montale
Experimental milk boiling (Solarolo)
Experimental soups (Tanca Manna)
Experimental cooking with Florencia Debandi (Tanca Manna)
Experimental archaeology at Solarolo
Bolzano Archaeological Museum with Florencia Debandi
Experimental cooking processes (Solarolo)

ABOUT THE PROJECT

"Farming Culture: Origins in Prehistory and its Legacy of a Sustainable Agriculture" is a project won by Maurizio Cattani, Professor of Prehistory and Protohistory at the Department of History Cultures and Civilizations (DISCI), University of Bologna.

It represents the peak of a tireless and decades-long interest of the Department and its members designed to fully understand and reconstruct the subsistence strategies, sustainable management of environmental resources and proper power supply of Bronze Age communities.

This is a six-month project, started in the spring of 2025 and funded by the European Union - Next Generation EU, the Ministry of University and Research and Italiadomani - PNRR, which fits well within the larger European project ONFOODS - Research and Innovation Network on Food and Nutrition Sustainability, Safety and Security. Given its scope and quite ambitious goals, the project requires the support, scientific contribution and collaboration of several “actors.” In fact, professors of the University of Bologna (Marialetizia Carra, Claudio Cavazzuti and Antonio Curci), researchers (Florencia Debandi, Nicla Branchesi and Alice Zurzolo) and external partners (Municipality of Solarolo (RA) - Unione Romagna Faentina and the Municipality of Valsamoggia (BO) - “Rocca dei Bentivoglio” Foundation) work together and are directly involved.

One of its objectives is to continue to expand this already rich and dynamic collaboration network with other museums and research institutions.

The backbone of the project is represented both by the will and need to share the profound link between sustainable land management and wise stewardship of the natural resources achievable. Such a direct, pure, respectful and extremely aware relationship with the surrounding environment is rooted in Protohistory.

To be more accurate, the strategies adopted by Bronze Age communities (between the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C.), especially in the flourishing and peculiar territory of the Po Valley, seem to have paved the way to a deep awareness and understanding of the territory. Such mindfulness reaches all the way back to the peasant civilization and it is nowadays, more than ever, crucial to recover and to become a behavioural pattern.

Furthermore, the multidisciplinary intrinsic feature of archaeology, with its continuous input from specific and diverse disciplines, lay the foundation of this Onfoods project. The ongoing and unrelenting dialogue among its “actors,” with a distinct focus on confrontation and sharing, will determine its final.

📜 Historical background:

Combining the historical knowledge and concrete action plays a pivotal role in the project. Its backbone is represented by the study of the Bronze Age (4,000 - 3,500 years ago) in the Po Valley, a period of time defined by a profound transformation and adaptation to the environment, based on a great knowledge of its resources.

🔎 Interdisciplinary reality:

Multiple as well as varied expertises and disciplines work together within the project, for example Archaeobotany, Archaeozoology, Isotopic studies, Experimental archaeology and Ethnography.

♻️ Sustainability:

Highlight the legacy of sustainable agriculture, chosen by the Bronze Age communities! Unveiling how food was produced and understanding the logic behind consumption and resource management to live more consciously today. Thus, the Bronze Age does not represent a mere era of the past, but it becomes a model for rethinking our sustainable future.

📚 Food education:

Another goal of the project is to delve into ancient food habits and resource management strategies. Their reconstruction aim to produce a new education and awareness, able to restore the distribution of food, reduce waste and ensure land sustainability.

⛏️ Archaeology:

In order to trace down the Bronze Age communities food habits it is mandatory to scientifically dig the archaeological sites. This will allow for a reconstruction of the cultivated species, the animals reared and the strategies implemented by the communities under study.

🗣️ Public engagement:

Producing scientific knowledge and sharing it represents a very ambitious challenge. Thus, there is also a strong public role behind the project. This is the reason why, alongside digital tools and social media, numerous and diverse in-person activities.

🔗 Check out our social media by clicking Instagram and Facebook!

The Onfoods Team!

Everything you need to know about the project's research team:

Maurizio Cattani: PI of the ONFOODS project, Professor at the Department of History, Culture and Civilization (University of Bologna) and expert of Bronze Age.
Marialetizia Carra: Researcher at the Department of History, Culture, and Civilization (University of Bologna) and expert in Archaeobotanical analysis.
Antonio Curci: Professor at the Department of History, Culture, and Civilization (University of Bologna) and expert in Archaeozoology.
Claudio Cavazzuti: Researcher at the Department of History, Culture, and Civilization (University of Bologna) and expert in isotopic analysis.

Florencia Debandi: Research fellow at the Department of History, Culture, and Civilization (University of Bologna) and expert in the study of resource management and nutrition.
Alice Zurzolo: Research fellow at the Department of History, Culture, and Civilization (University of Bologna).
Nicla Branchesi: Research fellow at the Department of History, Culture, and Civilization (University of Bologna).