Luisa Bertacchi ai fondi Cossar: innovazione e modernità

This paper aims to examine the character and activity of Luisa Bertacchi in the light of the manifold work she carried out at the “former Cossar” area in Aquileia. Since 2009 the authors on behalf of the Padua University with the cooperation of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Aquileia Foundation have been operating there. Between the 1960s and 1980s, Luisa Bertacchi’s activity focused on this area, with a particular interest in the restoration of the ruins brought to light in the 1930s by Giovanni Battista Brusin. Over that period of time, the scholar collected a substantial assemblage of pottery finds, which had been stored until now in the Museum deposits. These finds show her particular interest in the contextual analysis between finds and the excavated structures. Her peculiar attention towards heritage management, which she concretely carried out by restoring the ancient structures using innovative technical and structural solutions is even more surprising, and to be considered on the forefront at the time. The work of Luisa Bertacchi at Aquileia resulted in a deep innovation in the field of archaeological investigation through the modernisation of both research methods and preliminary reports. From our contemporary point of view, however, her main achievement was the introduction of new forms of heritage management, through new concepts and terms such as valorisation and archaeological park, which are still key themes of discussion today.