The choice of the Walls of Frederick II as the venue for the conference dedicated to the Walls of Capo Soprano already speaks volumes. Two defensive systems, two distant eras, the same city: discussing Greek stonework while standing within a medieval fortification was the evening's first message. Gela thrives on continuous stratification, and each era has left its own defense, its own signature, its own vision of the future here.
Within those walls, scholars from Messina, Tampa, and the international network of Walled Cities gathered. A broad geography, gathered for one evening around a monument in Gela.
The heritage as a whole
The scientific part was opened by the Director of the Gela Archaeological Park, architect Ennio Turco, who brought together these very threads. Drawing on the experience of someone who works daily in the preservation of cultural heritage, he encouraged us to view Gela's heritage as a single entity, connecting the city's different eras. From there, the next step: heritage management, archaeological research, and the opportunities offered by technological innovation are three ways of doing the same thing.
Eighty years of questions
The presentation by Professor Caterina Ingoglia, Professor of Archaeological Research Methodology at the University of Messina, reconstructed the long journey of research on Capo Soprano. February 1948, when the walls were rediscovered beneath the dunes. Pietro Griffo's insights. Piero Orlandini's work. Dinu Adamesteanu's excavations. Nearly eighty years of research that continue to raise new questions.
Ingoglia is among the scholars who know this monument best, and it was evident. Her analysis was both rigorous and passionate, conveying to the public the grandeur of the structures along with the weight of the still-unclear questions. Archaeology remains a living discipline: each generation of scholars rereads the data, compares hypotheses, and verifies interpretations with increasingly accurate methods. Hence the reflection on the name. The expression "Timoleontee Walls" has entered common usage and remains the affectionate way the city calls its stones; the research invites us to look at it critically, in light of what studies have acquired over time. Talking about Walls of Capo Soprano It puts the place, the monument, and the complexity of its history back at the center, and lets scientific results guide the lexicon.
The monument becomes data
The transition to new digital frontiers came with Professor Davide Tanasi, Professor of Digital Humanities at the University of South Florida in Tampa and Director of the Institute for Digital Exploration. Tanasi is now among the leading international experts in the application of digital technologies to cultural heritage, and brings to Gela his extensive experience. At the Walls of Frederick II, he presented a world-first preview of the results of a long and painstaking effort to digitize the city's monuments.
Three-dimensional surveys, photogrammetry, digital modeling, advanced documentation techniques. The result is a scientific record of millimetric precision: every block, every joint, every failure of the 4th-century BC fortifications recorded and archived. The Walls of Capo Soprano, built using mixed techniques and among the best-preserved defensive systems in the Mediterranean, become a model that can be consulted, measured, and compared over time. It's a leap forward on three levels. *Protection, because knowing the monument's true condition is the premise for any sensible intervention: time and inconsistent maintenance have made a comprehensive assessment of the materials' consistency necessary. **Research, because scholars are now analyzing the structures from new perspectives. And *fruition, the part that perhaps changes things the most for those who live here.
A digitized monument is a monument that lets itself be told. It becomes accessible to those who follow the site from afar, to those with mobility impairments, to schools that can explore it from the classroom before arriving on site, to researchers on the other side of the world, to visitors who, standing before the stones, can finally understand what they are looking at. The digital copy stands alongside the original and builds a broader understanding around it. Knowing better allows for better preservation, and to open this story to as many people as possible.
Messina and Tampa, a scientific construction site across the ocean
The project is the result of a specific and decidedly international synergy. The Gela Archaeological Park has finalized a protocol with the University of Messina, headed by Professor Ingoglia, while the development of digital activities is under the responsibility of Professor Tanasi on behalf of the American university. Field archaeology and digital humanities are working on the same subject, each with their own tools, as equals.
Here, a method takes shape. Skills that usually remain in separate rooms converge on a common good, and two universities separated by an ocean share the same research site. The stated goal is to obtain a comprehensive picture of the current state of the materials, structural data, and possible intervention methods.
A network that holds the walled cities together
Along the same international lines, engineer Francesco Butera, International President of the Foundation of the Walled and Fortified Cities of the World, a network of which Gela is already a member, delivered a presentation. Butera clarified the full significance of this membership: developing projects for study, protection, dissemination, and promotion, building connections between governments, universities, associations, and scientific communities around the world.
From this perspective, walls become bridges between cities and cultures, tools for imagining new forms of cultural tourism and opportunities for growth based on knowledge.
The role of Lions, promoters of the international network of Walled Cities, was crucial. Representatives of the Gela Host Lions Club, the Golfo di Gela Lions Club, the Gela Ambiente Territorio Cultura Lions Club, the Butera e Terre Federiciane Lions Club, and the Sicilian Champions Lions Club also attended the conference. A message from Santhosh Kumar, Past ZC UAE Lions, also arrived on behalf of the Sharjah Lions Club, wishing the initiative success and expressing his desire to participate in a future meeting in Gela. These simple words captured the human dimension of a network: people from far away united by the idea that cultural heritage is a common language. Messina, Tampa, Sharjah, the Walled Cities Foundation. In a single evening, Gela found itself at the center of a conversation that spans continents.
Who held the threads together
The conference was born from a collaboration between the Gela Archaeological Park and FIDAPA BPW Italy – Gela Section, chaired by Professor Giusi Rinzivillo Ragona, as part of the district project "Art, Culture and Sustainability," with architect Rosa Maria as coordinator and President Ina Di Figlia as head of the Sicily District.
In her opening remarks, President Rinzivillo Ragona posed a question that lingered throughout the evening: what do we want to leave to those who come after us? A static testimony or richer and more accessible knowledge? The answer comes from research and the ability to build networks. Significant contributions to the organization came from Lina Campisi, FIDAPA member and LC ATC representative for the Walled Cities, who oversaw relations with the international circuit, and from Professor Crocifisso Ragona, who oversaw the evening's organizational aspects. As a Young member of the Section, I closely followed the various phases of the work, and I can say that a full hall for a scientific conference in this city amply repays the effort.
Among those in attendance were Lella Oresti, President of the Archeoclub, and representatives of Inner Wheel–Antea, Maria Garofalo Greca, and Soroptimist, Maria Grazia Raimondi. Numerous FIDAPA members were present, confirming the vitality of the Gela chapter.
The next step is the sea
The program will continue on October 18th with a study day dedicated to the Sea of Gela, its shipwrecks, the routes, and the stories preserved beneath the seabed. Eight speakers, including archaeologists, underwater archaeologists, university professors, engineers, architects, and researchers, will address the submerged and unearthed heritage from different perspectives: archaeological, engineering, environmental, and management. A key part of the day will be dedicated to schools. Engaging students brings knowledge out of the labs and into the classroom, and shows new generations that cultural heritage is part of their daily lives: a legacy that requires care, preparation, and new professionalism. Training professionals specialized in the protection, management, digitization, and valorization of cultural heritage means transforming Gela's archaeological wealth into qualified employment.
The time to do
For years, this city has preserved the memory of its greatness. What we saw one evening inside the Frederick II Walls speaks of a new movement: the Archaeological Park, Italian and foreign universities, associations, Service Clubs, scholars and citizens sitting in the same place discussing the same thing. The Walls of Capo Soprano have endured twenty-five centuries of wind, sand, and salt. Today, they exist in a form that time leaves intact. The real difference, however, is made by a community that chooses to study, protect, and share what it possesses.
Cities become great when they find the courage, expertise, and vision to transform memory into the future.
