Uomini e cose a Vignale: bilancio di un decennio di archeologia pubblica, condivisa e (forse) sostenibile

Uomini e Cose a Vignale (Peoples and Things at Vignale) is a community archaeology project based in the territory of Riotorto, a rural neighbourhood of the Municipality of Piombino, in Tuscany. Since 2004, the University of Siena carried out the excavation of a Roman villa and mansio and established deep connections with the surrounding area. Thanks to the direct involvement of local stakeholders – intended both as members of the resident community (i.e. schools, cultural associations, companies and laypeople) and of bystanders (i.e. tourists) – the project developed specific traits that may be considered innovative, especially in terms of economic management largely based on crowdfunding and crowdsourcing strategies. Introducing some of these traits and presenting a recent evaluation of the project, the aim of this paper is to critically address the social, intellectual and economic sustainability of Uomini e Cose a Vignale over time.