We are delighted to invite you on Saturday, February 11, 2025 at 2:30 p.m. for a conference led by Vannina Marchi – van Cawelaert, Professor of Medieval History, University of Corsica

This conference will present medieval Corsica transmitted by the chronicle of Giovanni della Grossa and put to the test of archives and archaeology.

A notary and chronicler serving the various powers that ruled Corsica in the first half of the 15th century, Giovanni della Grossa is the author of the first Historia di Corsica. Often dismissed as a rustic and naïve writer prone to “fables,” he has remained largely overlooked or misused by historians despite the richness of his work.

Steeped in humanist culture, Giovanni della Grossa stands out for his chronological precision, attention to archaeological remains, and strong interest in Antiquity. Situated at the crossroads of oral tradition, chivalric culture, and historiography, his chronicle serves as a "monument-document" whose different layers and successive rewritings remain to be reconstructed.

Vannina Marchi – van Cawelaert leads the interdisciplinary research project of UMR 6240 LISA (University of Corsica, corsemedievale.huma-num.fr), which provides a new critical and digital edition of this essential testimony to Corsican history.

For more information, contact the museum at 04 20 19 02 40 or by email at musee@mariana-lucciana.fr.