The research area is situated in the locality of Baullo, in the territory of Gagliano Aterno (AQ)
(Sheet F. 146 III NE MONTE SIRENTE).
Work on the site began in 2014 with the aim of investigating the ruins present there, which may be those of the ancient church of Santa Scolastica, cited in a document of 1286. However, the research is part of a wider project to study the Franciscan settlements within the Sirente-Velino Regional Park and to reconstruct the presence of St. Francis in this territory, identifying all the sites and architectural remains that may be associated with him. Indeed, according to tradition this was the site of an ancient locum sancti francisci and the place where the famous episode of the “miracle of the water” narrated by Tommaso da Celano occurred. Therefore, starting from the upland of Baullo the research intends to take a census and make an analysis of the Franciscan settlements in the territory in order to gain an understanding of their origin and reciprocal relationships, and relationships with the town (centred or scattered), as well as the reasons for their particular abundance and concentration in this area. In addition, the truth regarding the “miracle of the water” and the existence of a locum sancti francisci will be investigated.
The preliminary research on the site uncovered an architectural complex on a north-east/south-west alignment. Two main rooms were identified (rooms 1 and 2), a rectangular aula (13.50 × 6 m), an adjacent room (3.40 × 3.80 m) and a perimeter wall, of which only the crest survived, which seemed to enclose the entire complex.

The remains can certainly be attributed to the church of Santa Scolastica mentioned in a document of 1286. Indeed, although it does not offer any definite topographical information (borders, rivers etc.), the document explicitly cites the toponym “_Bauulio_”, which survives today in the modern toponymy. Furthermore, the area in which the ruins stand is still indicated on land maps with the name Santa Scolastica and is the only place with medieval remains.
At present, it is not yet possible to identify the function or to what building the individual structures and rooms belonged. However, the archaeological analysis, although at an early stage, seems to confirm that the structures did not belong to a single building but a settlement occupied between the early medieval and modern periods. Consequently, the church of Santa Scolastica cited in the 1286 document constituted only one of the buildings within it.

The most plausible hypothesis regarding the nature of this settlement is that it was a monastery of Benedictine foundation, as suggested by the dedication to Santa Scolastica, twin sister of St. Benedict. However, a military function cannot be excluded, that is a “motte”, as the toponym Baullo that could derive from “_ballium_”, the lower courtyard of a Norman fortification, would seem to suggest.