The MedioEvA International and Interuniversity Center was founded in 2022 by specialists in medieval literature from the universities of Siena, Sapienza, and Tours. The center promotes, coordinates, and carries out studies, research activities, projects, print publications, and digital resources on literature composed in Latin and vernacular languages by women in the Middle Ages (6th–15th centuries). The Center is multidisciplinary and comparative in nature. It promotes the study of women's literature within medieval society and culture. In doing so, it combats anachronistic yet deeply rooted stereotypes that view the Middle Ages as a backward era in which women were completely marginalized. Alongside historical research, MedioEvA supports philological and literary analyses of the phenomenon, including the publication of unpublished works and the translation of texts that have never been translated before or require new versions. These analyses address the objective and subjective perceptions of women in the various centuries of the Middle Ages. MedioEvA draws on joint resources ranging from the targeted examination of published and unpublished sources to the most modern digital tools. Both objective and subjective perceptions of women in the various centuries of the Middle Ages are addressed by drawing on joint resources ranging from the targeted examination of published and unpublished sources to the most modern digital tools.
The Center also aims to encourage the consultation and circulation of medieval women's literary materials in a multidisciplinary context. It seeks to promote and participate in cross-disciplinary and third mission scientific initiatives and to train and update teachers. The Center promotes a more up-to-date view of the cultural role of medieval women and the Middle Ages as a whole, starting from educational institutions.
MedioEvA's conception and creation were collaborative and multidisciplinary efforts, and this specificity is reflected in the Center's organizational chart:
UniSi
Elisabetta Bartoli, Director
Maria Rita Digilio, Scientific Director
Natascia Tonelli, President
Roma La Sapienza
Donatella Manzoli, Coordinator and Deputy Director
Tours
Sabrina Ferrara, Head, International Relations