International Research Center on Mercenary Civilization

 

The establishment in Anghiari of a research center of such significance reflects the belief that historical and scientific research is essential to give value to our society.

The very first investigations stemming from these needs for study and research have enabled our museum to organize several exhibitions as part of the program by Fondazione CR Firenze and Le Gallerie degli Uffizi called "Terre degli Uffizi", where some of the peculiar characteristics of the men-at-arms of Anghiari in the 15th century were presented to the public.

 

It will therefore be of extraordinary interest to bring together in Anghiari some of the most significant expertise and human qualities to provide a new, anti-rhetorical interpretation of events related to 15th-century society, which was so deeply influenced by the profession of arms. Anghiari is, in fact, the ideal village to describe those scientific novelties that will arise from the joint work: Anghiari as a hope that these new studies may be as revolutionary as Leonardo da Vinci’s creation was.

 

The International Research Center on Mercenary Civilization (CIRSCIM) aims, based on the latest documentary acquisitions and innovative interpretive approaches, to bring to the attention of the scientific community an area of socio-cultural history that, widely undermined by rhetoric, instead displays extraordinary potential. On the other hand, when analyzed through quantitative perspectives (the pervasiveness of the military profession), the "real" social position of war professionals (moving beyond the important perspective of the "lord-mercenary"), and the forms of reflection and legitimacy sought by them (literary studies, for example, or artistic patronage, so much so that the town of Anghiari itself was developed through investment in architectural works by ordinary men-at-arms!), or through the actual legal regulation of the profession of arms, when analyzed, in short, from firm and serious perspectives, that history reflects the emergence of a "civilization" complementary to the fundamental expressions of the Renaissance.

 

The establishment of the International Research Center on Mercenary Civilization (CIRSCIM) is envisioned as a scientific committee, provided for by the current Municipal Museum Regulations (D.C.C. n. 2 of 09.03.2022, Art. 4, paragraph 6) and approved by the Municipal Council (D.G.C. n. 69 of 14-09-2022) with the aim of promoting scientific research. The regular operation of the research center will have Prof. Francesco Storti, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Naples Federico II, as its scientific coordinator, while the municipal structure will provide support through the Department of Culture and the Museum of the Battle of Anghiari in the figure of its Director. 

 

Discover the program of the 1st Study Day scheduled for June 24, 2023

 

___________________________

 

For more information: 

cirscim@anghiari.it