The Canopy of Heaven under a Microscope: Cataloguing Medieval Roofs (CaMeRoofs). Italy: the roofs of churches in the Veneto hinterland between the 5th and 15th centuries

One of the most fascinating aspects of medieval churches are the complex wooden frames of the roofs and the ceilings or vaults that dominate the interior. Cataloguing Medieval Roofs (CaMeRoofs) provides a multidisciplinary research on the roofing systems (external roof; internal wooden supporting structure; ceilings and vaults) of churches built between the 5th and 15th centuries, with the goal of creating a digital geodatabase for the architectural-historical study, the history of restorations, the typological-structural classification, the cultural contextualization and the state of conservation of the roofs. This preliminary stage of the project will focus on a specific territory that has preserved several cases of original or, at least, largely intact medieval roofing systems, despite restorations or modifications: the hinterland of the Veneto region (North Italy). This area is unique in Italy for its peculiar position, because it has received diversified cultural influences through the centuries (from East to West up to Northern Europe), which favoured the creation of different types of structures. 12 major monuments will be analysed: in this way, it will be possible to have an exhaustive sampling of all types of roofing systems built between the Early Middle Ages and the Gothic era. CaMeRoofs has the ambition to be a pilot project in Italy: based on solid European research experiences in this field, the project aims at creating an advanced and generalized system for the study and cataloguing of medieval roofs that can be continuously implemented and which will benefit the documentation, conservation and management of medieval architectural heritage. In the long term, thanks to the collaboration of other researchers, it will be possible to use this geodatabase on a much larger scale to highlight diversity and aspects that unite, across space and time, geographically distant churches with the goal of creating a European corpus of medieval roofs.