Church of Sant'Ambrogio alla Rienna, Montecorvino Rovella

The international conference "Sant'Ambrogio alla Rienna in Montecorvino Rovella (Salerno). The study, restoration, and inclusive use of an early medieval church" will be held on March 20 and 21 at the University of Salerno, Fisciano Campus, DiSPaC Conference Room (Building B) and then at the former Santa Sofia Conservatory in Montecorvino Rovella. The event marks the conclusion of a scientific and community project directed by Francesca Dell'Acqua, Chiara M. Lambert (University of Salerno), and Daniel K. Reynolds (University of Birmingham) between 2016 and 2025. Funded by the Universities of Salerno and Birmingham, the British Academy, the German Gerda Henkel Foundation, and the Swiss Patrum Lumen Sustine Foundation, the project has enjoyed the ongoing support of the Municipality of Montecorvino Rovella, the Pro Loco Tourist Board, and the Roberto Sguazzo Archeoclub.

The research initiative – also supported by the Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno – was co-financed by the Longobardia Association due to the interest held by the church of Sant'Ambrogio in the context of the European Cultural Route "Longobard Ways across Europe", structured according to the criteria of the Council of Europe.

Interdisciplinary research has confirmed the special significance of the church of Sant'Ambrogio alla Rienna and its frescoes as a result and symbol of the connections that existed between the 8th and 9th centuries, both with the material culture of the Longobard courts of Salerno and Benevento and the principal monasteries of southern Langobardia, and with the longobard area in the early Carolingian period of the "Kingdom of the Franks and the Longobards." Having not undergone substantial modifications in the following centuries, Sant'Ambrogio has offered an extraordinary case study of southern Langobardia as a crossroads of cultures in the evolutionary context of Longobard Culture as the "primary root of European Culture."

Three papers presented during the conference—which also features a wealth of other valuable contributions—are significant in confirming the church's unparalleled value. Professor Clemens Gantner (University of Vienna) will discuss "Sant'Ambrogio alla Rienna between Lonogbards and Franks. Politics and Patronage." Further exploration of the relationship between Longobard northern and southern Italy will be explored in a presentation by Sergio Antonio Capone (Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno) on "Ambrosian Relics in the Salerno Territory." Professor John Mitchell (Emeritus of the University of East Anglia) will then discuss "The Early Medieval Painted Programme of Sant'Ambrogio and the Pictorial Arts of Langobardia between the 8th and 9th Centuries."