معرفی
Laura Maria Alfano is a Research Fellow at the Department of Humanities, University of Catania, where she has served since June 2023 within the CHANGES-PNRR project “Spoke 6 – History, Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage”. She is simultaneously a registered professional archaeologist (MIC Band I, No. 11542) and teaches in the three-year degree course in Cultural Heritage and in the Specialization School in Archaeological Heritage at the same university.
Education
- PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Rome “Sapienza” – thesis on experimental investigation of Neolithic polished stone artefacts.
- Master’s degree in Judicial Archaeology and Crimes against Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage and Archaeomafia, Viterbo.
- First-level Master in Socio-Literary Disciplines, University for Foreigners “Dante Alighieri”, Reggio Calabria.
- BA in Archaeology, University of Tuscia, Viterbo – thesis on 3rd–2nd millennium BC ceramic production in central-southern Sicily.
Research Interests
Her current work combines archaeological science, heritage policy analysis, and digital data management to establish methodological standards for documenting the state of conservation and planning restoration interventions on archaeological contexts. She focuses on the Sicilian region from the post-World War II period to the present, integrating multidisciplinary perspectives to reconstruct historical protection policies and legal-administrative instruments.
Earlier research centred on prehistoric exchange networks, provenance studies of raw materials, and techno-functional analyses of polished stone tools and ceramics from Neolithic and Bronze-Age contexts across peninsular Italy and Sicily.
Publications & Scholarly Contributions
Alfano’s publications span from excavation reports and landscape studies to analyses of Bronze-Age connectivity and ceramic traditions. Collectively, they evidence a trajectory from artefact-based prehistoric research toward heritage conservation science and policy-oriented historical archaeology.
Scientific Awards & Fellowships
No specific awards or fellowships are mentioned in the supplied text.
Teaching, Supervision & Grants
She currently delivers lectures and laboratory training for undergraduate and specialization-level students in Cultural Heritage and Archaeology at the University of Catania. Previous teaching activities include seminars and practical workshops at the Museum of Origins, Sapienza University of Rome. She has participated in national PRIN projects and collaborated with CNR-ISPC within the CONTEXT programme (2019-2021).
Fieldwork & Collaborations
Alfano has extensive excavation experience in Italy and Turkey, notably with the Italian Archaeological Mission at Arslantepe-Malatya, and has contributed to surveys and field schools across multiple Mediterranean contexts.
