Welcome to the ITSERR project!
ITSERR (Italian Strengthening of the ESFRI RI RESILIENCE) is an interdisciplinary Italian research project in the field of Religious Studies, launched in 2022 with the aim of strengthening RESILIENCE, the European Research Infrastructure dedicated to the study of religions.
The project is carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Palermo, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Naples L’Orientale, and Turin, under the coordination of the National Research Council (CNR). ITSERR has been funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, within the framework of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Mission 4 “Education and Research”, Component 2 (Investment Line 3.1 “Fund for the creation of an integrated system of research and innovation infrastructures”).
OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE
The main objective of ITSERR is to strengthen the RESILIENCE Research Infrastructure during its preparatory phase, addressing the evolving needs of the multidisciplinary scholarly community in Religious Studies.
ITSERR builds on the richness and diversity of humanities data as a foundation for developing innovative technological solutions in collaboration with the ICT sector, while repositioning the Religious Studies community as an active contributor to technological innovation, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence, big data, and high-performance computing (HPC).
By adopting new technological paradigms, the project contributes to diversifying, enriching and innovating the body of knowledge produced by scholars of religion, bringing together expertise from a wide range of disciplines, including Qur’anic, Talmudic, and Biblical studies, canon law, architecture, visual computing, Slavic studies, archaeology, computational linguistics, mathematics, Sanskrit studies, medieval philosophy, linguistics and the history of Christianity.
MAIN RESULTS AND ACTIVITIES
Out of the twelve Work Packages composing the project, eight were specifically dedicated to the development of technologies supporting targeted disciplinary domains through concrete use cases.
The main tools and services developed include:
- T-ReS (Toolkit for Religious Studies), a software suite composed of CRITERION for digital critical editions and GNORM for the automated analysis of normative religious sources.
- DaMSym (Data Mining for the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Symbolum), a natural language understanding software solution for the semantic analysis of Creed translations.
- Digital Maktaba, a digital cataloguing platform for multilingual and non-Latin-script religious studies collections.
- YASMINE (Yet Another visual-Semantic Metascraper for Intelligent kNowledge Extraction), a digital cataloguing platform for multilingual and non-Latin-script religious studies collections.
- REVER (REVErse Regesta), a machine learning-based software framework for linking archival documents with corresponding regesta.
- uBIQUity, a search and intertextual analysis tool for identifying references to the Bible and the Qur’an in large textual corpora.
- TAURUS (Toolkit for Analysis and visUalisation for aRchaeology and religioUs Studies), a software toolkit for the 3D visualisation and digital representation of archaeological and cultural heritage artefacts.
- ReTINA (Religious Texts in the Nile Valley and beyond), an interoperable digital archive and annotation environment for ancient religious materials.
The technologies and methodologies developed within ITSERR extend beyond Religious Studies, with potential applications in scientific, public and industrial domains.
HORTUS Platform
The results of the project have been integrated into HORTUS, an open-access, integrated and collaborative digital platform.
HORTUS is designed as an all-in-one research environment, providing access to ITSERR outputs (datasets, software, publications and services) through a unified catalogue, collaborative workspaces, an expert database and AI-based analytical tools.
The platform also incorporates training activities aimed at supporting users in effectively exploiting the developed tools and services.
Designed in accordance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), HORTUS ensures the long-term accessibility, interoperability, and reuse of data. The platform is intended to continue evolving beyond the project’s lifetime as a sustainable digital infrastructure serving the international scientific community.