Francesca DELL'ACQUA

Francesca DELL'ACQUA is an Associate Professor of History of Medieval and Byzantine Art at the University of Salerno, Department of Cultural Heritage Sciences (DISPAC). Her academic work bridges the fields of art history, religious studies, and medieval history, with a particular focus on the cultural and theological exchanges between Byzantium and the Latin West during the early medieval period. Based at the Fisciano Campus, she maintains an active research profile with numerous publications and international collaborations.

Professor DELL'ACQUA's research interests primarily center on the iconography and theological significance of the Virgin Mary in early medieval art and literature, Byzantine Iconoclasm and its reception in Italy, cultural transmission between East and West, and early medieval monasticism. Her work demonstrates how religious concepts, particularly concerning Marian devotion, traveled across linguistic and political boundaries despite the growing divide between Greek and Latin cultures. She has made significant contributions to understanding how theological ideas were translated into visual forms during periods of religious controversy.

Her publications reveal a consistent focus on the eighth and ninth centuries, examining how theological debates about sacred images influenced artistic production across Europe. A recurring theme is the transmission of Byzantine theological concepts into Western European contexts, particularly through monastic networks. Her research shows how early medieval artists and theologians creatively adapted Eastern traditions to local contexts, resulting in distinctive hybrid forms of religious expression that reflected both theological orthodoxy and regional identity.

Professor DELL'ACQUA has led significant research projects including 'Iconophilia' (2015-2017), funded by the European Commission, which investigated the echoes of the Byzantine debate on sacred images in Rome and central-southern Italy. She is also principal investigator of 'At the Crossroads of Empires: The Longobard Church of S. Ambrogio, Montecorvino Rovella,' examining an early medieval church discovered in the 1970s that shows clear links to the material culture of secular courts and monasteries in southern Langobardia during the late eighth and ninth centuries. Her collaborative archaeological work at this site, funded by the British Academy, Gerda Henkel Stiftung, and universities of Salerno and Birmingham, has yielded important insights into Lombard-Byzantine cultural interactions.

Her research methodology combines close analysis of visual materials with textual scholarship, revealing how theological concepts shaped artistic production and religious practice. She has demonstrated particular expertise in analyzing how early medieval communities used architectural space, liturgical practice, and material objects to express complex theological ideas related to the Incarnation, the nature of Christ, and the role of Mary in salvation history. Her work on pectoral crosses, ivory carvings, mural paintings, and liturgical textiles has illuminated the multisensory nature of early medieval religious experience.