This volume is the result of four seminars that represented a unique opportunity to share the results of the most recent archaeological and topographical research conducted in the regions on the two shores of the central Adriatic Sea. The contributors include specialists who have been involved in excavations or who have researched archaeological topics in the coastal territories of Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Dalmatia and Illyria. Recent research seems to indicate that different phenomena relating to the transformation of material culture and settlement choices were directly influenced by the continuous political changes and the various economic and cultural influences that characterised the areas occupied by 'barbarians' compared to those under Roman-Byzantine control. The papers here collected, through regional summaries and through the presentation of individual study contexts, examine the forms of settlements and aspects of the production and circulation of ceramics and other craft products during this period of crisis.