缅北禁地

I am a classical archaeologist whose research explores the architecture, logistics, and spatial organisation of Roman imperial residences and their surrounding landscapes. My work is interdisciplinary, combining architectural analysis, structural archaeology, digital reconstruction, 3D modelling, environmental archaeology, and historical topography within the framework of large area urban research.

My work focuses on the interplay between elite display, servile infrastructure, and resource management within palatial complexes such as Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli and the Sessorian palaces in Rome’s Eastern Caelian. I am currently Principal Investigator of the project at Hadrian’s Villa, which investigates the overlooked spaces of the working population and the infrastructures that sustained daily life in imperial residences. I also lead a collaborative study with the University of Calabria on the Economy of imperial construction in Rome and Latium (2nd–5th centuries CE), assessing imperial investment in building materials and construction practices.

As PDRA of the ERC-funded project, I am co-editing volumes on urban change, thermal and religious architecture, water infrastructure, and courtly logistics from the 1st to 8th centuries CE.

Research profiles and papers

ResearchGate

Qualifications

• PhD in Roman Archaeology, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy
• 3Ys Postgraduate Diploma in Classical Archaeology (top achievable marks), Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
• 4Ys Degree in Classics and Archaeology (First-class honours), Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy

Honours and Awards

• 2018, 6 months Fellowship at the British School at Rome (Italy)
• 2006-2008, Full 3 years PhD scholarship, Università degli Studi di Perugia
• 2002-2004, Full 3 years scholarship, Scuola di Specializzazione dell’Università degli Studi di Milano

Research Focus

My research spans the Roman West, with a particular focus on Rome, Tivoli, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Northern Italy, and centres on Roman architecture and its social, political, and cultural dimensions.

Peopling Roman Palaces (2024–ongoing)

As PI of the project at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hadrian’s Villa (Italy), I investigate social hierarchies, security, and lived experience within imperial residences. This research explores the architecture and infrastructure that sustained these vast complexes, shifting attention from the long-celebrated ceremonial quarters to the often-overlooked spaces of the working population (; ). By examining how servants, administrators, artisans, and guards inhabited and animated these environments, the project reframes imperial palaces not only as symbols of power but also as dynamic, lived spaces where organisation, innovation, and daily life converged.

Quantifying the economy of Roman imperial architecture (2024-ongoing)

I lead a project stemming from and partially funded by the Rome Transformed research, which addresses another key aspect of imperial architecture: the economy of imperial construction. In collaboration the University of Calabria, the project conducts a large-scale mortar study of imperially sponsored buildings in Rome and Latium from the 2nd to 5th centuries CE, a period marked by intense building activity. Through comparative qualitative and quantitative analysis of lime–volcanic ash mortars, it reconstructs sourcing strategies and levels of imperial economic investment across military, hydraulic, and residential projects. By establishing whether materials were procured centrally and redistributed or obtained locally, the project illuminates the organisation and transformation of the imperial construction economy from the High Empire to Late Antiquity. It also compares results from imperial residences with elite properties on the Eastern Caelian to assess their possible integration within imperial building networks ().

Rome Transformed (2019–2025)

As PDRA of the project, I studied the transformation of the urban layout of Rome’s Eastern Caelian between the 1st and 8th centuries CE. My work focused particularly on data integration and visualisation (), the design of the Sessorian Palace (Ravasi, T., & A. De Santis, eds. in preparation. The Sessorian Palace in Rome: Unravelling Transformation of an Imperial Residence in Rome’s Eastern Caelian. Oxford: Archaeopress), elite housing (Ravasi in press; Ravasi, T. & P. Liverani, eds. in preparation. The Multifaceted Nature of Rome’s Eastern Caelian: Transformations of a Residential District from Suburban to Urban. Oxford: Archaeopress), and the Late Antique transformations of the Lateran Baptistery from a thermal complex into a religious building (paper in preparation).

Roman Collecting and Displaying Practices

My interest in the design of sculptural display and collecting practices in Roman imperial residences stems from my PhD research on the sculptural display of Hadrian's Villa (; ) and continues to inform current scholarship (e.g. Elsner 2018; Vout 2018; Beard 2023; Wheeler 2025). A new article reassesses collecting and relic display as mechanisms of imperial authority in Christianised Rome and Constantinople (Ravasi submitted).

Romanisation, Trade and Economy in Northern Italy during the Republic and Early Empire

My research also extends to Romanisation and the economy in Northern Italy, investigating broader transformations in production and consumption as suggested by the distribution of oil, wine, and garum fish sauce from the Republican period to the 2nd century CE. I have published extensively on Roman trade and economy in the Po Valley and on Roman Republican and early Imperial amphorae from the colony of Cremona (please check my publications ).

PhD supervisions:

• Elettra Santucci, (2021-2025)
• Susan Rands, Cost Analyses for Construction and Sustainment of the Castra Nova Equitum Singularium and the First Lateran Basilica on Rome’s Eastern Caelian (2023-ongoing)

I have taught the following modules:

• (UG) CAC1012 Classical art and archaeology 
• (UG) ARA2091 The Archaeology of the Roman Empire  
• (MA) ARA8050 Graduate Seminar in Roman Archaeology

• Articles

  • Ravasi T. Baptising under Constantine in Rome. Antiquity 2026. In Preparation.
  • Haynes IP, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Foschi G, Kay S, Piro S. . Papers of the British School at Rome 2024, 92, 327-330.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Santucci E, Foschi G, Carboni F, Bailey P, Kay S, Piro S. . Papers of the British School at Rome 2023, 91, 323-327.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Carboni F, Ravasi T, Kay S, Piro S, Morelli G. . Papers of the British School at Rome 2022, 90, 337-341.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Carboni F, Ravasi T, Kay S, Piro S, Morelli G. . Papers of the British School at Rome 2021, 89, 342-346.
  • Ravasi T, Liverani P, Haynes I, Kay S. The Lateran Project: interim report fro the 2019-2020 Season (Rome). Papers of the British School at Rome 2020, 88. In Press.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Kay S, Piro S, Ravasi T, Carboni F. . Papers of the British School at Rome 2020, 88, 354-357.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Kay S, Peverett I. . Papers of the British School at Rome 2019, 87, 318-322.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Kay S, Peverett I. . Papers of the British School at Rome 2018, 86, 320-325.
  • Mariotti V, Massa S, Ravasi T. . Notiziario per i Beni Archeologici della Lombardia 2006, 193-208.
  • Ravasi T. . ACME: Rivista della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell’Università Statale di Milano 2003, 56(2), 5-50.

• Authored Books

  • Ravasi T, De Santis A. The Sessorian Palace in Rome: Unravelling Transformation of an Imperial Residence. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2026. In Preparation.
  • Ravasi T, Liverani P. Neighbourhoods, imperial patronage and property development in Rome’s eastern Caelian. The transformations of a residential district from the 1st to the 8th centuries CE. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2026. In Preparation.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Foschi G. . Oxford: Archaeopress, 2025. In Press.
  • Haynes IP, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Foschi G. . Oxford: Archaeopress, British School at Rome, 2025. In Press.

• Book Chapters

  • Ravasi T. . In: Bellingham D, ed. Cultural History of Collecting in Antiquity. London: Bloomsbury, 2026. In Press.
  • Ravasi T. Imperial Authority and the Collection of Relics: Power, Prestige, and Urban Transformation in Late Antiquity. In: Proceedings of the workshop Connecting Constantinople: Objects, Empire, and Inter-Civic Relationality, 12–13 June 2025, Istanbul: The Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul & The Netherlands Institute in Turkey. 2026. In Preparation.
  • Ravasi T, La Russa M, Randazzo L, Vagnuzzi S, Rispoli C, Galli G. . In: Haynes I; Liverani P; Ravasi T; Foschi G, ed. Rome Transformed: The Eastern Caelian from the Principate of Augustus to the Pontificate of Leo III. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2025. In Press.
  • Ravasi T, Bottiglieri L, Colli D, Vagnuzzi S. . In: Haynes I; Liverani P; Ravasi T; Foschi G, ed. Rome Transformed: The Eastern Caelian from the Principate of Augustus to the Pontificate of Leo III. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2025. In Press.
  • Ravasi T. . In: Haynes I; Liverani P; Ravasi T; Foschi G, ed. Rome Transformed: The Eastern Caelian from the Principate of Augustus to the Pontificate of Leo III. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2025. In Press.
  • Jansen G, Ravasi T. . In: Koloski Ostrow, A.O., Neudecker, R. & Jansen, G, ed. Sixty-Six Toilets and Urinals in the Ancient City of Rome: Sanitary, Urbanistic, and Social Agency. Leuven: Peeters, 2024, pp.41-44.
  • Jansen J, Ravasi T. . In: Jansen, G., Koloski-Ostrow, A.O. & Neudecker, R, ed. Sixty-Six Toilets and Urinals in the Ancient City of Rome: Sanitary, Urbanistic, and Social Agency. Leuven: Peeters, 2024, pp.7-12.
  • Haynes IP, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Kay S. . In: Launaro A, ed. Roman Urbanism in Italy. Oxford: Oxbow, 2023, pp.22-43.
  • Haynes IP, Ravasi T, Peverett I, Grellert M, Simpson M. . In: Haynes IP; Ravasi T; Kay S; Piro S; Liverani P, ed. Non-Intrusive Methodologies for Large Area Urban Research. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2023, pp.49-55.
  • Ravasi T, Dobreva D. . In: Arslan Pitcher, L; Arslan, EA; Blockley, P; Volonte, M, ed. Amoenissimis aedificiis, Lo scavo di Piazza Marconi a Cremona: Volume II I materiali. Mantova: Societa' Archeologica Padana, 2018, pp.215-240.
  • Dolfini A, Cardosa M, Dolci M, Ravasi T. . In: N. Negroni Catacchio, M. Cardosa & A. Dolfini, ed. Paesaggi d’Acque. La Laguna di Orbetello tra Preistoria ed Età Romana. Milan: Centro Studi di Preistoria e Archeologia, 2017.
  • Ravasi T. . In: Destrée, P., Murray, P, ed. A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics. Wiley-Blackwell, 2015, pp.248-261.
  • Ravasi T, Barbaglio F. . In: Baioni, M; Fredella, C, ed. Archaeotrade. Antichi commerci nella Lombardia Orientale. Milan: Edizioni Et, 2008, pp.37-61.
  • Volonte' M, Ravasi T, Nicodemo M. . In: Baioni, M; Fredella, C, ed. Archaeotrade. Antichi commerci nella Lombardia Orientale. Milan: Edizioni Et, 2008, pp.285-303.
  • Ravasi T. . In: Grassi, M.T, ed. Calvatone-Bedriacum. I nuovi scavi nell’area della Domus del Labirinto (2001- 2006). Milan: Milan University, 2008.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Ravasi T. . In: XXe Congrès International d'Archéologie Classique. Archéologie des Espaces Vécus. 2024, Paris, France. In Press.
  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Kay S, Foschi G. Beyond the Palatine: ‘Palatial’ centres as creative hubs from the second to the eighth century AD. In: XXe Congrès International d'Archéologie Classique. Archéologie des Espaces Vécus. 2026, Paris, France. In Preparation.
  • Ravasi T, Haynes I, Peverett I. The nymphaeum of Corsia Mazzoni: from archaeological investigation to 3D visualization. In: Rileggere il Laterano antico. Il rilievo 3D dell’Ospedale di S. Giovanni. 2020, Rome: Insegna del Giglio. Submitted.
  • Ravasi T. . In: Proceedings of the XVIII International Congress of Classical Archaeology. 2015, Merida, Spain.
  • Ravasi T, Grassi B, Perticucci I, Fiori I, Mariani P. . In: VIII Congresso Nazionale IGIIC – Lo Stato dell’Arte. 2010, Venezia: Nardini.
  • Mariotti V, Massa S, Ravasi T. . In: The Pottery of the Via Egnatia. Cultural Exchange between East and West. XXV International Congress of Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores. 2008, Durrës, Albania: Rei Creatariae Romanae Fautores Acta.
  • Dolfini A, Dolci M, Ravasi T. . In: Preistoria e Protostoria in Etruria. Atti dell’VIII Incontro di Studi. 2008, Milan: Centro Studi di Preistoria e Archeologia.
  • Ravasi T. . In: Old Pottery in a new Century. Innovating Perspectives on Roman Pottery Studies. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi. 2006, Catania, Italy.
  • Volontè M, Cecchini N, Nicodemo M, Ravasi T, Ridolfi G. . In: Produzioni e commerci in Transpadana in età romana. 2006, Como, Villa Olmo.
  • Pitcher L, Ravasi T. . In: Workshop Beni ambientali e culturali e G.I.S. 2005, Florence, Italy.
  • Ravasi T. . In: Papers in Italian Archaeology VI. Communities and Settlements from the Neolithic to the Early Medieval Period', Proceedings of the 6th Conference of Italian Archaeology. 2005, University of Groningen, Groningen Institute of Archaeology (The Netherlands).

• Edited Book

  • Haynes I, Ravasi T, Kay S, Piro S, Liverani P, ed. . Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing, 2023.

• Exhibitions

  • Haynes I, Ravasi T, Foschi G, Azzari M, Liverani P. . 2025. Villa Celimontana, Rome (Italy): Istituto Geografico Italiano.
  • Haynes I, Ravasi T, Foschi G. . 2024. 缅北禁地 upon Tyne, UK: Great North Museum.

• Report

  • Ravasi T. . York: Archaeology Data Service, 2025. Rome Transformed Reports.

• Research Dataset/Database

  • Haynes I, Turner A, Ravasi T, Foschi G, Liverani P, Kay S, Peverett I, Piro S, Santucci E, Bailey P. . 2025. York: Archaeology Data Service.

• Review

  • Ravasi T. . Journal of Roman Studies 2023, 113, 244-246.