The paths of Altamura man

WHEN
2019/Ongoing

WHERE
Altamura, BA

PARTNERS/CLIENTS
Comune di Altamura

REFERENCE ACTIVITY
Place-based development

THEMATIC SCOPE
Support for innovation in the cultural sector, Cultural-based territorial development

A collaboration dedicated to the integrated and sustainable and strategic use of Neanderthal sites, Lamalunga Cave, Pontrelli Quarry, and other sites and assets of paleontological and paleoanthropological interest

The paths of Altamura man

A collaboration dedicated to the integrated and sustainable and strategic use of Neanderthal sites, Lamalunga Cave, Pontrelli Quarry, and other sites and assets of paleontological and paleoanthropological interest

WHEN
2019/Ongoing

WHERE
Altamura, BA

PARTNERS/CLIENTS
Comune di Altamura

REFERENCE ACTIVITY
Place-based development

THEMATIC SCOPE
Support for innovation in the cultural sector, Cultural-based territorial development

Abstract

The study for the sustainable and strategic use of the paths of Altamura Man started with the shared desire of the municipal administration to become a tourist destination building on the excellent cultural resources of the region. These include a superb landscape, a significant cultural and gastronomic offer, and unique traces of the past that provide focal points of interest for diverse audiences.

A city of 70,000 inhabitants in the hinterland of Puglia, Altamura possesses one of the most extraordinary paleontological discoveries in the world: a human skeleton of a man that lived between 180,000 and 130,000 years ago. Together with the site of Pontrelli Quarry, which contains over 20,000 dinosaur footprints, this represents the heritage that was the subject of this integrated development plan.

Goals

The study identified possible development strategies based on local cultural resources and on existing connections between different stakeholders. The study suggested a range of possible activities which could be hosted by the sites and the development of design layouts.

Final Report

Read the document

Video recordings of the meetings

Watch the video

Our role

The Fitzcarraldo Foundation is supporting the activities of the municipality within the framework of a Special Partnership of several years’ duration The collaboration has included numerous activities, including an evaluation of the surrounding area, and an architectural plan delivered across different phases of the project and with different levels of detail. The programme provided many site visits, discussions with partners and a benchmarking analysis to assess its state of conservation, its use and potential, and the relationships between the sites and the partners themselves. Additionally, the Paleocity programme, which evolved through the partnerships, has provided a series of public meetings to raise awareness and to explore comparisons with some of the most important museums of paleoanthropology in Europe.

Our support and design activities began in 2019 and are ongoing.