Gabriele Castiglia is Professor of Topography of the Orbis Christianus Antiquus at the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology (PIAC) in Rome. He has directed the PIAC’s research and excavation project in the Aksumite city of Adulis (Eritrea). Currently, he serves as Principal Investigator in archaeological and research projects at the Byzantine monastery of the Shepherds’ Field in Beit Sahour – near Bethlehem, Palestine – and in the territory of ancient Scolacium, in Calabria (Catanzaro). His scholarly output includes numerous monographs, edited volumes, and peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and conference proceedings, with a particular focus on the processes of Christianization of urban and rural landscapes in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. He is a member of the editorial board of the Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana and a correspondent for the journal Archeologia Medievale.Philippe Pergola is Full Professor and Dean at the Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana (Rome) and Professor Emeritus at the University of Nice. His main research interests deal with the Early Christian topography of cities and rural areas in the Mediterranean. He has directed more than 150 archaeological missions in the Mediterranean and in the Horn of Africa and has authored hundreds of publications on these topics.
