The prosperous towns of Medieval Europe (on the example of several Italian towns from the end of the 13 th until the beginning of the 15 th century Cover Image

Благоденстващите градове на средновековна Европа (На примера на няколко италиански града от края на XIII до началото на XV век)
The prosperous towns of Medieval Europe (on the example of several Italian towns from the end of the 13 th until the beginning of the 15 th century

Author(s): Nadezhda Hristova
Subject(s): History, Cultural history, Diplomatic history, Economic history, History of ideas, Political history, Middle Ages, 13th to 14th Centuries, 15th Century
Published by: Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий”
Keywords: medieval Italian towns;urban planning;urban infrastructure;urban environment;urban space; public services;sanitation;town authorities;city dwellers;everyday life

Summary/Abstract: In the present paper, on the basis of information from sources dating to the period from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 15th century (such as chronicles, town statutes, documents of guilds, etc.), an analysis is made of the policy followed by the authorities of several medieval Italian towns in the sphere of urban planning and development, organization of public services, maintaining of order and sanitation in public places. Part of the selected sources provides information on the attitude of medieval Italian city dwellers towards their towns and their communities. The sources under analysis show that the whole diversity of architectural and spatial solutions, the construction and maintenance of urban infrastructure, the keeping of public order and sanitation in the Italian towns in the Middle Ages, demanded from their inhabitants the exertion of joint efforts in order to ensure a harmonious and safe urban environment. All the aspects of urban life were strictly supervised, managed and controlled by the town authorities. They had to take care of everything: from the construction of reliable defences for the constantly growing towns in the form of new fortified walls, towers and gates, through the securing of free access and moving along the town streets and squares, the regulation of vehicles’ speed, the supply of enough quantity of drinking water, to the maintenance of public sanitation and the punishing of offenders. The legal regulations of the town authorities, which were brought to life by the problems of the daily routine in the medieval Italian towns, marked the gradual formation of a tradition of common occupation of the often limited urban space.

  • Issue Year: XXIII/2015
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 465-476
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Bulgarian