The research project WaterDecor is funded by the Union Commission in the frame of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Grant agreement ID: 101104972). The project lasts three years and involves the University of Udine, which is the Host Institution, and the University of Bern for the period abroad in a third non-associated country. Furthermore, a collaboration with local institutions in the Levant is also foreseen.

WaterDecor analyses how these water management installations were built across this vast semi-arid geographical area and evaluates cultural, social, and economic implications. Through a historical perspective and the record of past societies, this project embraces the EU’s challenges in the field of climate action and resource efficiency, bringing awareness to the importance of conscious water use. Furthermore, in line with the strategic framework for the EU’s cultural policy and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), this research promotes international cultural relations with southern neighbours (Israel, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon).

My study endeavors to reconstruct the social, political, and cultural expectations embodied in public fountains.

The overall goal of WaterDecor is to assess how fountains and nymphaea, which are large water-consuming structures, were built during the Roman and Byzantine periods, managed, and affected by climate changes. The chosen geographical area examined is especially large because of the persistent changes of borders and administrative status of the Levant over the centuries; furthermore, researching a vast geographical region allows for comparisons of solutions found in areas that are different in terms of their geology, climate, and ethnic composition.

This research addresses three specific objectives:

1. to carry out a collective study of nymphaea/public fountains;

2. to investigate the urban and socio-cultural contexts;

3. to examine effects and consequences of climate changes.