THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ROMAN WORLD [A SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN SCIENCE FOUNDATION Coordinators JAVIER ARCE « EVANGELOS CHRYSOS - IAN WOOD ean Leaders Seeing Commitee Miquel Barcelo Gunilla Akerstom-Hongen Mark Biacburm, Volker Bierbrauer Gianpicero Brogclo Nicks Hannestad ‘Alain Dierkens Praemysiae Urbascayk Richard Hodges ‘Mario Mazea ‘Marco Mose HLH van Regteren Alena Patick Pein Heid Gjestein Res Walter Pobl L Cracco Rugg Frans Theuws Laie Webster Sores Edior IAN WOOD VOLUME 4 ‘THE IDEA AND IDEAL OF ‘THE TOWN BETWEEN LATE ANTIQUITY ‘AND THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES. THE IDEA AND IDEAL OF THE TOWN BETWEEN LATE ANTIQUITY AND THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES EDITED BY G.P. BROGIOLO AND BRYAN WARD-PERKINS ONE TIME USE ONLY NEG) Pe TAS, at® Seg ¢ bras “T6as BRILL LEIDEN « BOSTON - KOLN 199998 R. HILLENBRAND ‘The excavation reports published so far are silent on the evidence pointing to actual Umayyad occupation of the site.'® The necessary evidence that it really worked—that it was indeed full of people, that it did indeed have adequate access to food and water' and was thus effectively selfsupporting—is simply not there. Rather like Qasr al-Hair al-Shargj,"®” ‘Anjar seems, as already noted, to have had a critical shortage of living accommodation, That is an excessively strange deficiency in a settlement intended to function as a city, ‘Anjar, then, seems to have been inadequately thought out as a machine for living. Its parts, though individually sensible and well- planned, do not add up to a coherent whole. The site does not seem to have had a single purpose—the remains suggest that it was part palace, part market town, part administrative centre. A village with delusions of grandeur, perhaps; but a city? The case has still to be made.'* For a detailed discussion, ee Creswell, Zarly Musim Architcte, Umayyads A.D. 622- 2501/2, p. 631 "ST have not been able to consult H.K. Chehab's Harvard doctoral thesis on the decorative sculpture of ‘Anjar. Such details of this decorative sculpeure as have been published, eg. by M. Chehab, “The Umayyad Palace at ‘Anjar”, figs. 6-8 and 15-17, and HX. Chehab, “Les palais omeyyades 'Anjar. Résidences prin- CGtres été”, pp. 22-3, are consistent with certain types of Umayyad idiom. For farther analysis, see M. Chehab, "Découverte d'un palais omeyyade & ‘Andjar (Liban}", p. 351, which cites speciic comparator "The best evidence on thi topic is that provided by Sauvaget, who mentions several structures in the vicinity which he regards as contemporary with ‘Anjar: an openair reservoir, a masonry canal, a water-driven mill, and partially preserved fanals which would have irigated the whole of the neighbouring plain. Obviously there i ample material for further study here (Let ruines omeyyades de “Ancjar", 10) sean inscription from thie site—now lot, adits original exact location is daub ful—refere to it as a city (madinl See Creswell, ay Musi Architachre. Umayyads AD. 622-750 1/2, p. 532. Most recently, Haase has suggested thatthe lesser enclo- ‘aire is a caliphal palace and thet the larger enclosure is a small symbiotic setle- ‘ment (°Madinat alFar. The regional Tate antique tadison of an early Islamic foundation”, p. 167) “ain interesting near-contemporary cate from the other end of the Mediterranean i Reccopolis, a Jth-century setlement in Spain with a palace and church. The parallels remain to be explored. See K. Raddatz, “Snudien zu Recopolis I: Die Erchiologichen Befunde”, Madridor Miteluygen V (1964), pp. 213-33, IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE MIDDLE AGES GP. Brogiolo If the contemporary sources define, with the same term civitas, a centre like Milan, which preserved from Late Antiquity at least its grandiose defensive system and some public and ecclesiastical build- ings, and a litle castle such as Castelseprio, with a circuit-wall only 800 metres long and containing only a dozen houses and a church, then we must ask ourselves, first and foremost, what the criteria were whereby early medieval sources made their judgement. ‘Was it a legal consideration, whereby the presence of an official, whether a bishop, a duke or a judge, who held sway over a depend- ent territory, was sufficient to merit the attribution of the status of civitas to the settlement, whatever its size and appearance? Or was it a military judgement, whereby sites were graded according to the strength of their defences, maintained by state provision and quite independent of their economic importance? Or were the criteria ecclesiastical, based on an assessment of the urban landscape and its ccultsplaces, the cathedral within the walls, the suburban cemetery churches, and the monasteries? But we should not forget, in addition to these more subjective fac- tors, to take account also of economic aspects, such as the role of the town as a centre of production, of consumption and of trade, in the context of a hierarchy of territories (both directly dependent territories and those more distantly connected to the centre). And wwe should also take account of the town as a place where different social classes lived and confronted each other dialectically There is a range of ideas about the town, which the early medieval sources, especially the literary sources, do not seem able to describe fully. These texts are, on the one hand, conditioned (more than today’s historians and archacologists appreciate) by the comparison ‘with classical times, which appeared through their monuments to be something which could not be equalled—"look how well built it was, by wicked men who did not know our Gods law” is the exclamation100 GP. BROGIOLO of the anonymous author of the Versus of Verona.’ On the other hand, they are also distorted by the goals of propaganda, function- ing in the interests of the ruling-class, whether this was the Romano- Gothic aristocracy of Theoderic’s regime or the politico-ecclesiastical circle of Pavia and Milan, revolving around the family of King Liutprand, in the first half of the eighth century. Problems of interpretation are, of course, always present with liter- ary texts, but for the early medieval city they are particularly intense, because it must have been difficult for contemporary observers to ‘understand the consequences and significance of the profound changes that were then taking place. The world was moving from a city of ‘monuments (temples, entertainment buildings, thermae, fora, extra~ ‘mural cemeteries laid out along the roads), which reflected a style of life now passing out of existence, to a city in which the emerg- ‘markers in the urban landscape were different: churches, epis- copal palaces and monasteries, circuit-walls with their towers and Gitches, Lutials inn amongst the houses, public palaces, and ruralised open spaces. Despite this, the monuments of the classical city retained, at least in the literary texts of the Early Middle Ages, a firm pres- cence: in the sixth century, for instance in the writings of Cassiodorus, they are remarked on as a reality of the urban landscape, even though they could no longer effectively be renewed, Later, in the cighth and ninth centuries, the verse encomia of Milan and Verona depict them, though each in slightly different ways (to which we will return), only as the backdrop to a renewed urbanism of which the Christian shrines are the new markers Even amongst the confusion of remarkable events which charac- terised the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, the sources, if viewed over the broad canvas of four centuries, do reveal to us the way that the values of the classical city were altered into those of the Middle Ages. Between the fourth and the sixth centuries the texts oscillate between a pessimistic vision of a dying world, exemplified by cities in crisis or fully destroyed by military or natural disaster, and a propagandistic view in which the activity of kings and military commanders reverses disaster, restoring cities to their “fristinum deeus "GB Pighi, Vosus de Voona. Vern de Medislno cistate (Bologna, 1960), p. 158: “Ecce quath bene est fundata a malis hominibus,/qui nesciebant legem Dei IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 101 (former splendour)". Later, between the second half of the seventh and the ninth centuries, we find, expressed in more tranquil tones, the idea of a city stil heir to that of the classical past, but now wholly renewed, both in spirit and in its outward symbols. In this article, I will seek to compare the archaeological data with some of the texts which are most revealing of how ideas of the clas- sical city were transformed between the fourth and the ninth cen- tures. I will group these texts into five distinct themes which also correspond to different periods: (1) descriptions of urban crisis at the end of the fourth and into the fifth century; (2) the sixth-centary renovatio urbium of Theoderic; (8) the lament over cities destroyed by ‘war and natural disaster (in the sixth and seventh centuries); (4) the eclipse of the symbols of the classical city (under Agilulf and Theo- dolinda); (6) new ideas for the early medieval city (from Cunipert to Desiderius) 1. Descriptions of Urban Crisis at the End of the Fourth and into the Fifth Century ‘One of the passages most frequently cited to illustrate a dectine in settlement (particularly of urban settlement) at the end of the fourth century, is in the letter which Ambrose, the great bishop of Milan, wrote, between 373 and 397, to his friend Faustinus, in order to console him over the death of his sister. For Ambrose, this was no definitive loss, since her soul would enjoy eternal life, whereas those settlements along the Via Aemilia—“so many cadavers of half-ruined cities, and... the corpse of a countryside” —were “for ever laid-low and destroyed (in perpetam prostrata ac dirua)”.? Ambrose tells of the desolation of the cities of Clatema, Bologna, Modena, Reggio, Brescello, and Piacenza, the abandoned fields of the Apennines, and the deserted fortresses (castlld) once teeming with people. In these brief references, Ambrose zketches out the characteristic elements of a human land- scape (cites, fields and fortresses), now all swept up in the same process of decline ‘Modern historians have offered very varied interpretations of this © Ambrose Opa, Pars X, ed, O. Faller, CSEL 87/1 (Wien, 1968), pp. 67-68: ‘Toga semitaran bum cave, armies copes eps102 GP, BROGIOLO text. Optimists have seen in it only a literary topos coloured by a rmoralising intent, or even “not the remains of cities effectively aban- doned, but the altered social and fictional physiognomy of the city.”® Pessimists have interpreted the same text as caused by some local and temporary crisis—the result either of excessive fiscal demands and of the transformation of the cities into fortresses; or of damage from earthquakes and floods; or of economic problems.‘ Or indeed, they have interpreted this desolation as simply an exception to the general rule of late antique urban regeneration in the Po region, stimulated by the establishment of the capital at Milan and by the importance of the political and commercial axis that linked this city with Aquileia and Trier.* That, in at least some regions, the landscape of the late-fourth- century Empire was filled with ruins is indirectly confirmed by laws in the Theodosian Code, intended to control the re-use of ruinous bbuilding-material. But itis also clear that the chronology and causes of this development were not everywhere the same, and that only archacological excavation will be able to shed light on this diversity For example, recent research shows that there were signs of decay in the cities of Tuscany and of southem Piedmont already in the third century, whereas in Lombardy and central Piedmont such indi- cations do not appear before the late fourth.* The emerging picture for southern Piedmont is supported by another well-known literary * C. La Rocca, “Trasformazioni della cia aktomedievae in ‘Langobardia’”, Sui Str (1980), pp. 993-1011, at p. 998: “non gia i reiti di cia effeivamente abbandonate, bens! la muta fsionomia sociale ¢ funzionale delle cit "J Oral, “Edin resdenziale e crsi urbana nella tarda antichti: font arche- clogiche per la Cispadania", XXXIX Corso di cultura salle ravennate + bigcatina (Ravenna, 1992), pp. 587-606. 5°G. Cantino Wataghin, “Quadsi urbani nellalia setentionale: tarda Antichith ¢ alto Medioevo”, in ed. G. Lepelley, La fo de la cti anit ot le dibut dela et midi- ale (Naxtera, 1993) (Bari, 1996), pp. 239-71 © Tuscany: G. Ciampolrni, “Clad Trammentate’ ¢ cit fortezaa. Storie urbane della Toscana centro-ertentrionale fra Teodosio © Carla Magno”, in eds. R. Fran- tovieh and G. Noyé, La stria dll madi italian alls Ice delPrchlgi AUS del ‘anne intenacinale, Sena 2-6 dzendre 1992 (Firenze, 1994), pp. 615-33. Southern Piedmont: C. La Roces, “Fett citar rio im tempore tasformazione dei muicpia abbandanati dell'ialia occidentale nel secolo XI", At dal comcgno La coisa Adelaide (la sce dd slo 0, = Sequin 82, pp. 103-10. Lombardy: GP. Brogilo, “Elizia residenaale in. Lombardia", in ed. GP. Brogiolo, Elling retdawziale oa’ Ve VIIT stele, Ati dl 4° seminars sul tndonizo + Valumediowo in Lala cisternal, Mente Baro 2-4 satenbre 1993 (Mantova, 1994), pp. 103-14, Central Piedmont: G- Cantino ‘Waraghin, “Lediiia abitaiva tardoancicae altomedievale nellTalia nord occidentale Status quaestionis", in ed. Bropiolo, Eailicia vsidacia, pp. 89-102, IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 103 passage. In a letter (Ep. 13) written to his brother Tnnocentius in 374, Jerome writes of Verceli, a city of the Ligui, sited not far from the foothills of the ‘Alps, ence powerful, now sparsely inhabited and half-ruined (olim pots, tune ro habitatore seins). For Aemilia, the region described by Ambrose, the work of Jacopo Ortalli is interesting” Analysing the results of excavations of nine different urban domus, in Clatema, Sarsina, Forlimpopoli (Foram Popili), Ravenna and Rimini, he has shown that these aristocratic houses all experienced a similar history: built in late republican or early impe- ial times; altered and embellished, often richly, between the first and the third centuries; and, finally, all destroyed by fire. In some of the damus, the destruction can be dated archaeologi- cally to the end of the third century; and in that at Piazza Ferrari in Rimini, were found, in a layer of burning with a teminus post quem supplied by a coin of 257-8, a lance and a javelin, Ortalli has, very reasonably, supposed that the fire was started intentionally during a period of warfare, and he suggests that the event can be identified as the raids of the Alemanni who, after defeating Aurelian at Piacenza, sacked the cities along the Via Aemilia. It is at present impossible to prove whether the damage caused by these raids would have been stil visible (to Ambrose) a century later; but in all cases, except two, the collapse of the domus was not followed by another period of construction, Other causes of decay and destruction were certainly present in Late Antiquity, Beginning in the tetrarchic period and in response 1 the invasions, which in the fifth century became ever more effective and organised, urban defences were reorganised. This process altered the plan of many cities, leaving outside the walls entire districts, even though they were not always uninhabited. In Bologna, outside the walled circuit of the “mura di selenite”, built in the fifth century, there existed throughout the early medieval period a landscape of ruins that one source of the eleventh century significantly still terms the “civtas antigua rapta (the ruined old city)” In Brescia, the walls of ? Ontalli “Eda resdensiale” (as cited in Note 4) 4 For the date of Balogna’s defences! S. Gelichi, "La citta in Emilia-Romagna tra tardowantco ed alto-medioeve", in eds. Francovich and Nayé, La sri delfaio matcao dali (as cited in Note 6}, p. 574,los GP, BROGIOLO the fifth or sixth century left unprotected the insuae to the south? But in many cities new nuclei of settlement formed around the suburban cemetery churches, which had become meeting-points for the Christian community and points of contact with the surround- ing countryside.” The building of defensive walls, and the appearance and spread of decayed or ruinous areas within towns did not in themselves mark the end of the city, but they did underline a new urban role, which was primarily defensive and within which new urban focal points were formed (around the centres of ecclesiastical and lay power), that often did not coincide with the focal points of the early Empire. A hundred years later, Ennodius describes not only the consequences, but also a specific cause of architectural decay in the city of Pavia. In 489 the troops of Theoderic were forced to take refuge within ‘the walls of Pavia, and billeted themselves within the great aristo- cratic domus, “cutting them up” into tiny little huts: You would have seen the city teeming with vast throngs of troops, and huge domus cut up into the narrowest of huts. You would have seen even the largest buildings disappear from their foundations, nor was the ground itself sufficient to take such a dense mass of people. Archaeological traces of this phenomenon (the subdivision of domus and villae with partition walls of poor material, such as wood and lay), although the result of many different causes, are fairly common in the period between the fourth and the sixth centuries. Nor was the quartering of troops (and people) a limited phenomenon. Rather, it was repeated many times in the late fifth and throughout the sixth century: Heruls, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and Byzantine imperial troops all sought, and found (since they had the power to enforce their will), protection within the walls of cities. * GP, Brogiolo, Bria aomeiale, Urbnisica ed ela dal IV al IE scl, Document di archtologia 2 (Mantova, 1995, pp. 45-55. “='G. Cantino Wataghin, “Libs e tar nela Tarda Anshita:lnee di vicerea”, Medteranes Tanks Anco « Alene, Qgademi \ (La “star cricina”. Urbaiia tele cit te fes Tare Amit ¢ lltions. Asp di archolgia whan, I seins 4 suis, Toso 1991) (Forno, 1992), pp. 7-H; G. Cantino Wataghin, JM. Curt Esparraguera and J. Guyon, "Topograa dela cider critione tra TV e VI sce, ed GP. Brogiolo, Ey mada! tes it te weston Madoran, Ran 1994 (Mane ‘ova, 196, pp. 17-4 * Eanadhas Masur Felix. Ota ed. F. Voor in MGH AA 7 n QR 15 IDEAS OF THR TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 105 ‘The effects could only be considerable and disruptive—both in the pattern of property-holding, with the occupation of abandoned domus and with the expropriation of legitimate owners, and in the social and cultural (indeed often ethnic) composition of the popula- tion. Domus which right up to their last phase of life were decorated with mosaics and frescoes, were now broken up into single-roomed dwellings, with no concern whatsoever for their decorative appear- ance. This shows that the new inhabitants retained almost nothing of the style of life of romanitas, despite the fact that its values were frequently and nostalgically praised in the literary sources, the work of educated upper-class Romans. 2. The Renovatio Urbium of Theodoric Under the happy reign of Theoderic, writes Cassiodorus in his Gironicle, many towns were renewed, well-equipped castles were con- structed, and marvellous palaces were erected, such that his work outdid the marvels of the ancients.!* This opinion, which coming from a royal functionary sounds like flattery, is however accepted by all contemporary sources (from Ennodius to Agathias, and from Procopius to the Anonymous Valesianus). The echo of these deeds wwas later to become, amongst many of the Germanic peoples, one of the most durable myths of the early medieval West. Both the textual evidence of the Anonymous Valesianus and archac- ological research confirm that the most important works were those on fortifications, whether of towns or of castles.” Connected with the reconstruction of fortifications, was also the rebuilding of palaces."* However, there was, in addition, a more general programme in Ostrogothic times to restore ancient urban life to all its pristimam decws, through work on the theatres and baths (with the associated repair ™ Cassiodorus Senator, Choice, ed. T. Mominsen, Ohonica minora sac. IV, ¥, 1, Vil, MGH, AA 11, frag. 1339. "won Valen ps paste, ed. T. Momamsen, Chonica minora sac. IV, ¥, VI VII, MGH, AA 9, $8, chaps. 71 and 73; S. Lasuardi Siena, “Sulle wacce della pre- senza gota in Telia: i contribute dele font archeologiche”, in ed. G. Pugliese Garrateli, Magisra barbartas. I babar in Haka (Milano, 1984}, pp. 509-558; G.P. Brogiclo, “Edifsia residensiale di etd gota in Italia serentvionale", in Various ‘Authors, Gott (Milano, 1994), pp. 214-21 ''B. Ward-Perkins, om Clastal Antigniy to the Middle Urban Publis Bling106 © RoGIOLO of aqueducts). This building programme aimed to restore classicism not only through stylistic imitation, but also through a generalised rreuse of ancient building materials from abandoned buildings (“marble blocks, which often lie in ruinous neglect [marmora gquadrata qui passim dat negignnta”), which, when reused, contribute to the embellishment of the “publicum decus”. This project mainly involved financing, through the royal treasury, prestige projects (as we shall see below), but it also sought collaboration with private individuals to whom were granted ruinous public buildings to be restored (in Roma the Porticus curva and a horreum; at Spoleto another porticoed building). In relation to other recreations of the past, which have often occurred in Italy's cultural history, from the Renaissance to Classicism, this one, like that of the Carolingian period, had a clear political aim: to legitimate a barbarian chieftain through his adoption of dlassical architectural models. This was a cultural choice that was shared by the senatorial aristocracy whom Theoderic sought to in- volve in the administration of the realm. It was also shared by the ruling Gothic aristocracy, as is shown by the inscription from Pavia of Asbad, magistr militiae laliae, of 528, praised that: “thanks to you, several cities whose walls had been destroyed rejoice to have returned to their original splendour (per te diversae destructs moenibus urbes/gau- dent ad priscum se remeasse decu)”. These ideals were so widespread in the mentality of the sixth century, that another general, the Byzan- tine Narses (victor of the Gothic War), was celebrated for restoring cities and walls destroyed during the long conflict, returning them ad pristinum decoren. In conclusion, the sources from Ostrogothic Ttaly vary between generic accounts of politically motivated urbanism and building (in Cassiodorus, Procopius, etc), and more specific information, restricted to the few most important cities—Rome, Ravenna, Verona and Pavia. Where written sources and material evidence have coincided, archaeology has been able to confirm both the reality and the good ‘quality of the projects mentioned by the Anonymous Valesianus and Reuse of building material: Csssiodorus, Varae, eds. AJ. Fridh and JW. Halporm, Corpus Christanorum series latina 95 (Lund, 1973), 1.7, Gran of pub- lic Buildings to private individuals: Varae 11.29 & IV.80 (Rome); 1V.24 Spoleto, W'Adbad: G, Panazza, Laps ¢ scale pallocsine ¢ praomaniche oi Pai, in dre Miler. Ati del I conaga per lo studio delat dal lio Matias, Paia 1950 a IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 107 by Cassiodorus; and, in the case of stamps on tiles and lead water- pipes, has also been able to confirm that the projects were state- financed (“Theodorus rex civiati reddidit”, as the inscription on pipes in Ravenna states) But with the exception of fortifications, the impression is of a lim- ited number of works, although played up by the written sources and supported by a widespread technological ability and adequate resources in the public treasury.” The term plurimae (many), used by Cassiodorus, should perhaps be better understood as aliguae (some) ‘The works that were carried out were motivated by a dual objec- tive: on the one hand (presumably the main aim), to reinforce the structures of power (through fortifications and palaces), while on the other, to send a strong political signal, legitimising the king through the recovery of at least some of the monumental urban symbols of the past. At least from the symbolic point-of-view, these objectives were achieved: the literary sources agree in celebrating them, and the equestrian mosaic portraits of Theoderic in the palaces of Ravenna and Pavia continued to demonstrate the greatness of the king of the Goths for much of the Early Middle Ages. But what were the real effects, as reflected in the economy and in town planning? The archaeological evidence, although fragmen- tary, suggests a certain intensity of building in some urban quarters of the moze important towns—for example Ravenna, Milan, or ‘Brescia—whilst in the same towns many others quarters were under going phases of destruction.” ‘At Classe, the port of Ravenna, a new commercial quarter was laid out, with warehouses facing, on one side, the port-canal, and, on the other, a paved street."” In Milan, close to the basilica of S. Tecla, ” GLa Rocea, “Una prudente maschera ‘ansqua’. La politica ediliaia di Teo- erica”, Teduica it grande'e i Gat dala. Ati dal AIM congesso wiemazionale studi ‘uate metioes, Milano 1992 (Spoleto, 1993), pp. 451-515, Ravenna: FW. Deichmann, Roomna Hanptadt ds spaanten Abendlanes, 2 vols. (Wiesbaden, 1969 and 1974-76}, J. Oral, "Lediisia abitava", in Various Authors, Stra i Raxesa, I, dalla bizantina allt ctorina (Venezia, 1991), pp. 167-82, espe- ally pp. 1747; Gelichi, “La cit” (as cited in Note 8), pp. 578-84; M.G. Maiol, “Ravenna e la Romagna in epoca gota”, in Various Authors, J Ga (Milano, 1998, pp. 282-51, Milan: EA. Aran and B, Caporuso, "I sinveniment archeologiel Gegliseavi MMS nal contesto storco di Milano”, in ed. D. Caporusso, Semi MB. Risace di echologia urbana a Milano divane la cation dela la 3 dela Metropolitana 1942-1990 (an, 1991), pp. 351-8. Brescia Brose, Brea aoefioal (ed108 GP. BROGIOLO a street was paved and a contiguous building restored with good- quality building-work. Building that is technologically still quite accom- plished is also documented at Brescia, and perhaps Parma.” Tf an Ostrogothic date was confirmed for some luxurious vilae and domus of the Romagna," we would have farther evidence of the ¢co- nomic resources of the class of possessores and/or royal functionaries. Nor should we forget the flourishing, above all at Ravenna, of reli gious building, which the written sources largely ignore, perhaps in order not to threaten relations between Arian Goths and Catholic Romans.” Ic therefore seems beyond doubt, that Theoderic’s policy produced some positive results, even though both Cassiodorus, when he writes of the ruinous buildings from which construction material can be taken, and the archaeological evidence show that ruins and decayed buildings remained an inescapable part of the landscape, whether urban or rural. Theoderic’s polity was anyway destined to crumble, even before the outbreak of the Gothic War, since it was based on the con- tradiction of a court culture produced by a Roman aristocracy that was still too powerful to be readily accepted by those who con- trolled military power. The outbreak of war and the turbulent period which followed—with the military stand-off between Byzantines and Lombards—brought back the “ideology of lament”, which we have already seen operating between the fourth and fifth centuries Destruction through war or natural disaster thus became the con- stant reprise of the sources, taking up a theme already present in late antique literature, but in even darker tones that echo yet more profound changes in society. 3. “Catastrophism” in the Literary Sources of the Sixth and Seventh Centuries: Cities Destroyed by Wear and by Natural Disaster A catastrophic view of events is often a feature of history, and such a view was particularly prevalent during the period of transition ‘Moncanari, Raveona « il ports di Clase. Vou omni a rcwche echlegiche va Ranma ¢ (Clee Imola, 1883}, pp. 65-78. *"Brogiclo, “Ediza resdensiale in Lombardia” (as cited in Note 6 ” Malol, Rawma « le Romagaa (as cited in Note 18), p. 241, IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 109 which we are examining. The precise relationship between such ap- parent pessimism and the reality of events is a complex one, as we have seen in recent times, when the Cold War raised fears of the violent destruction of the whole of humanity. Paradoxically this world- view was darker than that assumed during the years of the Second World War, although in this period real dead and real destruction were liberally spread through many countries. In times of war, there is less time to feel sorry for oneself, and the rhetoric of propaganda tends to hide the crueity of the conflict. ‘The catastrophic tone adopted by late antique texts reveals the anxiety of contemporaries, when confronted by a crisis which they saw as irreversible and which destroyed previous classical models of urban life. We must therefore exercise caution in assessing these sources, above all for the period of transition under consideration, since it was marked by such a diversity of ideas, of social groupings, and indeed of peoples. But, in exercising caution, we should not fall into the cpposite trap of denying out of hand the whole truth of what the sources record: in many cases the Iament was in the fare of events which really had happened. A comparison with the archaeological data is therefore essential, in order to distinguish, in specific episodes, the truth behind the thetoric. There are particularly numerous accounts of destruction within the period of the Gothic War and the prolonged Lombard conquest. Bloody warfare (destruction of cities and massacres) alter- nates, in the texts, with natural disasters (famines and floods}, and catastrophic acts of God (disastrous fires). In contrast to the earlier period, the sources are now more detailed: they generally record specific events and describe different forms of destruction. 1. Destruction in war ‘We need to distinguish destruction in the heat of the moment, fired by the desire for revenge or booty, or by random savagery, from destruction that was planned in cold blood, and carried out sys- tematically and forcefully. a) Amongst the first type, we can not ignore those of the Gothic ‘War, recorded by Procopius. In 539, Milan surrendered to the Goths who spared the Byzantine garrison, but razed the city to the ground, killing all the males of whatever age to the number af at least AINA and rednrina the wnmen tn shaver110 GP. BROGIOLO granting them as a gift to the Burgundians as a reward for their al- liance. When they found the praetorian prefect Reparatus, they cut his body into small pieces and fed it to the dogs.” ‘The episode is also recorded in other sources, and we cannot doubt the truth behind it; though we can, of course, question the precise figures given for the slaughter and the consequences it led to. Tivoli, when conquered by Totila, suffered a similar fate: the Isaurian garrison managed to escape, but of the citizens, not one was spared by the Goths. They killed them all, including the priest of the city, in a manner which I refuse to describe, although I know it well, because 1 do not wish to leave for future generations a record of such inhuman cruelty* There were some similarly brutal acts of violence during the Lombard conquest, particularly in the reign of Cleph and the interregnum which followed (A.D. 572-84), but also right into the late seventh century. People were a particular target, above all rich landowners, Killed “ob cupiditatem (through greed)”, in other words, in order to take over their wealth. Sometimes the inhabitants of cities were enslaved, like the nobles of Grotone, whose ransoms were set so high that many remained prisoners of the Lombards, or like the “Romans tied round the neck ‘with ropes”, who in 595 “were taken to Francia to be sold into slav- ery”. Sometimes, as in the case of Forlimpopoli, destroyed by King Grimuald in the second half of the seventh century, the event was, a bloody reprisal, in this case caused by problems which the city had given to Lombard troops and envoys in transit.”* b) On the other hand, the planned destruction of cities is attested during the campaigns of Agilulf in 602-3, and of Rothari in 643-4. Agilulf, on capturing Padua, burnt the city and razed it to the ground. He also destroyed Cremona, while Paul the Deacon fails to men- tion the fate of Mantua, captured during the same campaign. We should note that these were not episodes of gratuitous violence: the ® Procopivs, Warr VI21.99-82, Procopius, Ope Onnia, ed. J. Haury (Leipzig, 1905-13). ® Procopius, Wis VIL10.22. ® Enslavement of Romans: Gregorius I Papa, Rerum Episolanmm, MGH Epp. TL, ¥V.36, Forlimpopol: Paulus Diacomus, Hisoria Lenidardoen, ed. G. Wait, MGH Scxiptores rerum langobardicarum et italicarum seece. VI-IX (Hannover, 1878), V.27. ® Baulus Diacomus, Hist Lng. (as Gite in Note 25), 1V.28. IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD LI] Byzantine garrisons were allowed to retum to Ravenna and there is no mention of any massacre of the inhabitants. ‘The destruction of the cities is followed by the dismemberment of their territories, in favour of acighbouring duchies or of fortresses which became admin- istrative centres. Amongst these latter was Monselice which, unlike the cities, does not seem to have suffered damage during the cam- paign of conquest. Ef the chronicler Fredegar is to be trusted, Rothari behaved in the same way towards the cities of Liguria and towards Oderzo: Genoa, Albenga, Varigotti, Savona, Oderzo and Luni were devastated, de- stroyed and bumt, their walls demolished, their inhabitants reduced to slavery, and, at the king’s orders, their status reduced to that of villages (“vieus has cstates nomenare praecepit”)”” Unfortunately, for most of these cities we lack archaeological data sufficient to allow an eval- uation of the real levels of destruction inficted upon them by Rotharis thongh in all cases itis clear that the settlement was not definitively abandoned. This, however, does not mean that there is no truth in Fredegar’s account. Amongst the destroyed cities for which we do have some evidence, the cases of Mantua and Oderzo are particularly interesting. In both cases, a decline in urbanism did not lead to the definitive abandon- ment of the site, but with very different consequences in each case: ‘Mantua in Carolingian times became again a city of a certain impor tance, while, on the contrary, Oderzo failed to raise its status above that of castnom, to which it had sunk during the Early Middle Ages. ‘There are, therefore three distinct types of destruction of cities in war: a) The material destruction of the city, through the demolition of its defensive walls and buildings. In all periods of history, this was @ devastating blow, but it may have been particularly damaging in our period, since it was one of economic recession. 1b) The massacre of a city’s inkabitants, and in particular of its aris- tocracy (with consequent disruption of the social and economic life of the city, and of the style of urban life). Certainty it is both pos- sible and necessary to question the reality of such events, but there is no doubt that we need to assume radical disruption, to both city © Chronzanon quae dvntur Fredegarit Scholastic Libri IV com contnuatonitus, ed. 1. Krush, MGH. Scrintones rerom Merevinsicarum 2 (Hannover. 1888. IV.7112 GP. BROGIOLO and territory, in order to understand the dramatic settlement changes documented in various parts of Italy: in southem Tuscany, which came to be characterised by a chaotic pattern of scattered settlements with- cout any obvious hierarchy; in the area of Modena, where earlier settlement sites were completely abandoned; and, finally, in Abruzzo and in Apulia and Calabria, where the previous hierarchy of sette- ments was entirely upset.” Certainly these are limited areas, above all in parts of the peninsula contested between the Byzantines and the Lombards, and therefore subjected to moments of violent destrac~ tion; but this does not mean we should undervalue their importance. ) The institutional destrcton of a city, deprived of its power and juris- diction over the surrounding territory, which are granted to neigh- bouring cities or to newly-created administrative centres. This is @ particularly interesting phenomenon, whose effects on the economic ‘and social life of the cities would be well-worth further study. However, ‘we should note that, at least in the case of the cities captured by Agilulf, the effects were transitory: after the fragmentation of the Lombard period, older jurisdictions were re-formed in Carolingian times. In central and southern Italy, in contrast, the effects on the settlement pattern persisted. 2. Natural disasers Tt was not only destruction caused by the endemic state of war that struck the collective imagination of our period; the effects of natural disasters were considered just as traumatic. Of all such events re~ corded in the sources, one that left a particular echo in the texts ‘was the great flood which hit various parts of Italy in 589. Paul the Deacon, basing his account on that of a contemporary of the event, Secundus of Non, provides a description in which reality and fan- tasy are intermingled, raising the episode to the level of an escha- % Southern Tuscany: F. Cambi, C. Citer, S. Guideri and M. Valenti, “Etruria, ‘Tusca, Toscana: la formazione dei paesaggt altomedieval’, in ed, Francovich and Nové,'La storia dealin medowo daliano (as cited in Note), pp. 185-216. Modena Teajon: Gelichi “La citth in Emilia-Romagna” (as cited in Note 8), p. 970, Abruzzo: ‘eSaalla, “Una tera di Frontera: Abruzzo e Molise fra VI e VII secolo”, in ed. GLP. Bropiolo, Ci, call cempagne nei teri di confine (sez. VIVID, Ati del & ‘onan sala cenvostnonale a Tarde Antica ¢ llomadien (Monte Boro, 10 ‘Bapw 7994) (lantova, 1993), 187-238. Apulia and Calabria: G. Noyé, “Les vles Se erovinces d’Apulie-Calabre et de Brattum-Lucanie du TV au VI scl”, in ed. Broseolo Earby media! tum (22 cited in Note 10), pp. 97-120. WEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 113 tological vision That the effects of this food were dramatic, at Teast in some parts of northern Italy, is clear from geomorphologi- cal studies and some specific archaeological stratification. Many rivers at the head of the Adriatic changed their course, and in some cities, like Modena, Concordia, Alkino and even Brescia, thick alluvial deposits cover the remains of late antique life.” So far, there have been no traces of this flood identified in Verona, despite the fact that Paul the Deacon tells us that it was followed two months later by a fire. For some cities and some rural territories, which were already in crisis, these disasters were the coup de grdve, but many others emerged unscathed. In Verona, the flood and subsequent fire preceded a period of crisis in the seventh century; but the city re- ‘mained important throughout the Early Middle Ages." At the head of the Adriatic, the cities of Concordia and Altino disappeared; but their long and protracted decline suggests that other factors were also responsible for their eventual total abandonment. The contem- porancous rise of lagunal settlements (of which Torcello was the most important), shows that it was possible to resist geomorphological and limatic change, and that these were not necessarily an obstacle to economic development. 4, The Eclipse of the Symbols of the Classical City and its Militarsation Jn the sources of the late-sixth and seventh centuries, we find, as ‘well as references to destruction, massacre and natural disaster, also plenty of traces of a continuity of urban and rural life within the traditions established in classical times (though it is often difficult to tell how symbolic or how real these references are). ‘The Lombards do not always appear in the sources as nefandissimi barbari (mest wicked barbarians), responsible for the butchery and * Paulus Diaconus, Hist Lag. (as cited in Note 25), 11.23 & 24, % §. Gelich, “Modena e il suo texritrio nell'elto medioevo", in Various Authors, Mods dalle wins al?anne Mile. Std di stra ea arcuolepa, Vol. 1 (Modena, 1989), pp. 551-76, M. Tireli, “Altino frontiers lagunare bizantina: le tstimonianze arche- Blogiche”, in ed. GLP. Brogiolo, ith carl, camparne ai ovr di ntira (sol TE Qatove, 198) pp. 18-26 Drogo, "Bela aomesinae os ced in Note 9) 0S. Gaspari, “Pavia longobarda", in Various Authors, Storia di Pag, Vol. T (Pavia, 1987, pp. 19-65, at pp. 35-7ne GP, BROGIOLO destruction of civilisation. In the cities and territories conquered by Alboin in 569-71, there is no record of violence. Indeed Bishop Felix of Treviso, on surrendering his city to the Lombard king, received hhis protection; Pavia, despite its three-year resistance to the enemy, was not sacked; and many fortresses, weakened by a famine, chose to surrender, rather than resist. The strong presence of troops ensured, for the cities conquered first, a supremacy throughout the period of Lombard domination. “After the bloody period of the interregnum (574-84), the times of King Authari (584-90) are described by Paul the Deacon as a period of prosperity and peace: “In truth this remarkable state of affairs ‘existed in the Lombard kingdom: there was no violence, no ambushes were laid, no-one unjustly exacted anything from another, no-one despoiled; there were no thefts and no robberies; everyone could travel where they pleased, safe and without fear.” ‘The improvement in conditions was born of a reorganisation of the state: “the peoples oppressed by their Lombard ‘guests’ were divided up (populi tamen adgraati per longobardos hospites partuntus)”, in other words, the Romans were subject to uibute, rather than to the complete loss of their berty, and were divided up perhaps accord- ing to the new territorial divisions of their conquerors (duchies and gastaldates).* However, for the exarch Romanus, writing to the Frankish king Childebert Tl, Authari remained ngandissimus, though only because the Lombard king had not ceased to attack Byzantine territory.” A useful insight into the preconceptions of the sources {which are mainly pro-Byzantine), can be got from the letters of Pope Gregory, which display an ambivalent attitude towards Agilulf, successor to Authari and protagonist of an intelligent and impartial policy of consolida- tion of his kingdom, through the alternating usc of violence and diplomacy. When the Lombards are on the offensive, Gregory's judge- ment is harsh, but, as soon as there is a whiff of peace and diplo- 7 Paulus Diaconus, ila (as ced in Note 25), 1112 (Treviso) and 1.26 & 20 (Pai. 2 Milas Diacons, Hi Lag, 116 2 Pash Diacona, Heng ILI (i farous and eps phate has, couse, seca jet oman et ed neti Ont, rt da Finer F. Beog, “Longobarae romana congeture”, in ed. 5. Gapar Sed P. Camumarcne, Lagoa (Usine, 1980), pp. 115-20. ‘S iGHt, Eps it (esto, 1882, p° 146, no 40 IDEAS OF THE TOWN BV ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 115 matic approaches are the order of the day, the pope sends gifis to ‘Agilulf’s queen, Theodolinda, and rejoices over the birth of their son Adaloald, and invites Agilulf to curb the excessive autonomy of the dukes. On the Lombard side, the kings attempted, as Theoderic had tried before, to legitimise their power through the revival of some’ of the material symbols of the classical past, above all through the Roman idea of the city as a centre for the display and exercise of power. Milan, the heir to the imperial tradition, became the principal royal residence. In its circus, in imitation of Byzantine court ceremonial, Agilulf celebrated the elevation as his co-ruler of his son Adaloald. Theodelinda built a palace at Monza, where the Gothic king had also built a royal dwelling, and she decorated it with frescoed scenes of the deeds of the Lombards.” ‘These symbolic gestures appear to have been the product of a court culture in which an important role was played by some members of the Roman ecclesiastical and lay aristocracy: Paulus, who was regent on the death of Authari; the abbot Secundus of Non, god- father to Adaloald; Stablicianus who was sent as ambassador to the emperor Phocas; and Pompeius, sent in a similar role to the Frankish King Chlothar Il. The aim was to found a kingdom, along lines experimented with by the Frankish and Visigothic kings, and with a strong association with the tradition of Milan as a capital The Valdinievole plaque, which comes from the front of a hel- met, synthesises well Agilulf’s political pretensions (Fig. 1). Agitulf is represented seated on a throne in the centre, and is flanked, in strict symmetry, by two armed warriors (with plumed helmets, plate armour, round shields and spears) who symbolise the Lombard army, two winged Victories, and four supplicants, two Roman and two Lombard. The scene is framed by two towers, stylised images of the city or palace. The image is derived from iconographic schemata of late Roman or Byzantine art, onto which is grafted a realistic rep- resentation of the form of dress and of military equipment of the % Gregorius T Papa, Hap. (as cited in Note 28), XIV.12 and 1.68. © Mil: Paulus Diaconus, Hist Lang, 1V.30. Monza: Hist Lang, 1V.21-2. % W. Kurze, “La lamina di Aglulfo: usurpazione o dito?" Ali 6° congress inte nacional std sully medion, Mle 1978 (Spoleto, 1980), Val. Il, pp. 447-56. Other interpretations in D. Hateison, The arb Sate and the Towns. Fors of gration ‘m Lonber! lly A.D. 568-774 (Lund, 1993), p. 188 note 59.116 GP. BROGIOLO Fig. 1. The Valdinievole plaque (Florence Bargelo) Lombards. Like the inscription on the Crown of Monza (Rec Totius ‘Taliae) the plaque synthesises the political programme of the king, recruiting both ethnic communities (Roman and Lombard) to the task of stabilising the kingdom, but at the same time preserving for the Lombards exclusive effective power, hased on control of the army. Symbols like this one do not successfully mask a conception and exercise of power that was in reality restricted to the king and to the highest ranks of the military, with no real space left for the Roman aristocracy. ‘want to present here two further examples of this militarisation of power: the archaeological picture from Brescia; and the evolution of some fortresses Fifteen years of stratigraphic excavations, carried out in the monastery of S. Salvatore/S. Giulia and on mumerous other sites in Brescia, have allowed us to produce a model for the evolution of the town between the Roman and early medieval periods, which I have already outlined in earlier contributions (Fig. 2). Here I wish simply to emphasise the high degree of control (political, economic, and social), ‘associated with the Lombard occupation and extending across a large ppart of the town: the curia duis, sited within a restricted circuit wall ® GP. Brogiolo, “Brescia: building transformations in a Lombard city”, in ed. K. Rendiborge The Beth of Banpe. Achoslial and sal development i the fst i Inner A.D. Analecta instnut Daniel supplementum XVI (Roma, 1989), pp. 156-655 Brogioo, Brescia alimdimale (as cited in Note 9) IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 117 fume Garza _ acquedotto iS nie LAT ry sa 100 2008 1. S, Faustino. 7. S. Petr, 2.8. Deideso 8. Xenodochio di Peresindo, 3. S. Giovanni Evangelista, 9, Xenodochio di S. Giulia 4S. Eulemia 1, Aequedorto presto casa Pallavi 5. S. Remigio. LL. Mulini 43 8. Ginla 5. S. Sabatore, 12, Curis duc. Fig. 2. Brescia, hypothetical plan of the city in Lombard times (= Brogiolo, Bria alonetioal, ig. 82)ug GP. BROGIOLO in the west part of the town; the curtis regi, between the Forum and vast area (c. 10 hectares) reduced to pasture to the south of the curtis gia and presumably dependent upon it; an urban castrum, on the summit of the hill which overlooks the town. ‘A clear dependence of the Arian) ecclesiastical hierarchy on lay power may furthermore be hypothesised, from the burial of the seventh-century bishops within the casinm, a place of direct Lom- bard control. Te was an occupation, therefore, which assured full military control of the town and of the important road which ran through it (from Verona, via Brescia, to Milan or Como). It was not limited to the use of the public areas (the palace, the castnm, the theatre, and the Capitol) but also expropriated quarters previously given over to rivate housin Pre wealth ofthe Brescian nobility derived from a wide dependent territory. From this, the urban aotis regia received both iron from mines in the Valcamonica, and meat (predominantly of sheep and goats, which indicates an extensive economy probably invalved in transhumance) from the richest estates of the plain, where a con- siderable number of exaciales were settled within the Roman settle- ment network.” In the curtis regia, besides the working of iron and bone, Lombard pottery was also produced, charged with a heavy cul- tural significance, and even pottery imitating Mediterranean stamped wares (Cera sigillata)* ‘An analogous purpose can be seen in the reorganisation, between the end of the sixth and the first half of the seventh century, of sev- eral frontier territories disputed, sometimes over a long period, between the Byzantines and the Lombards. These territories are distributed along the entire peninsula: from Apulia and Bruttium, in the south; © Tron: C. Gucini Tizzoni, “Un forno da ferro longobardo nelle Alpi italiane: Ponte di Val Gabbia-Valeamonica (Bienno Brescia)”, Niciarc di Arceabgia Medinale ro. 65 (aprile 1995}, pp. 8-9, Meat: P. Baker, “Socio-economic aspects of food sup- ply in early medieval Brescia: the zooarchacological remains ffom the Longobard EY Gita, ined. Brogiolo Bary maiaul uns (as cited in Note 10), pp. 89-96. +" Tomibard pottery: A. Guglielmets, “La ceramica comune tra fine VI ¢ X sec clo a Brescia, nel sti i casa Pallaver, palazzo Martinengo Cesaresco ¢ piazza Eabus, in eds, GP. Brogilo and S, Gelichi, Le aramiche alimedicali (VI-X sol) fli sentnalsproduon’« commer. Att del 6° seminar sullTakacenosetetrivale tte Tarde Antica « Atomatins (Mote Bar, 21-22 apne 1995) (Mantova, 1995), pp. oe. IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 119 up through the Abruzzo and Tuscany; to the Po Plain, in the north.** ‘The scorched-earth policy, carried out by the dukes and the kings, caused the destruction of ancient cities such as Cremona, Mantua, Padua, Oderzo, etc., and the dismembering of their territories in favour of castra which became the seats of military authorities. As a consequence, these fortresses were honoured by the contemporary sources with the title of ciitates. At the end of this radical reorgan- isation, Lombard power would have been distributed, as Stefano Gasparti has calculated, between twenty or so towns of ancient origin and a similar number of casira.® This distribution functioned both from the point-of-view of the military strategy that the Lombards were compelled to maintain against the persistent menace of the Empire, and from the point-of-view of the structure of the army, which was organised in the manner of a clan commanded by its chief. At the very same time as Agilulf and ‘Theodolinda were using clas- sical symbols to show their attachment to the monumental idea of the ancient city, the process of destruction of both setlements them- selves and of the relationship between some towns and their depend- cent tertitories was going ahead at full steam, with the consolidation at the top of society of a military hierarchy.** In some Germanic kingdoms, such as those of the Goths and the Franks, the use within politics of the classical idea of the city sug- gests the affirmation or growth of consensus in towns which had preserved a complex social structure. But in Lombard Italy of the seventh century it was no longer essential to organise a consensus around traditional cultural symbols: society had become simplified, with the heads of the ecclesiastical hierarchy either fleeing to Byzantine © Apuiia and Brutum: Noyé “Les ville (a cited in Note 28), Abruzzo: Staff, “Una terra di frontera” (as cited in Note 28). Tuscany: W, Kurze and . Citer, “La Toscana”, in ed. Brogilo, Citd, castll ¢ campagne (as cited in Note 28), pp. 159-86. Po plain: S. Gelichi, *Tersitor’ ci confine in etd longobarda: Vager muti: news’, and M. De Marchi, “Modell insediatvi ‘militaizzat’ deck longobarda in Lombirda", both ined, Brogilo, Cid, ear ¢canpame, pp. 145-58 and pp © S. Gaspars, “Tl regno longobardo in Talia. Struura ¢ fuazionamente di une stato altomedievale”, in eds. S. Gasparsi and P, Cammarosano, Largbardia (Udine, 1990), pp. 237-805, at pp. 292-301 “J, Jatt, “La finzione cenuale dla cna nel regno longobardo", and 8. Gaspar, “Longobardi'e ciua”, both in Sects © Storia 46 (1989, pp. 967-71 and 973-9, S. Gaspami, “Discussone”, in eds. Francovich and Noyé, La sna dello mds fade (as cted in Note 6), pp. 133-5120 GP, BROGIOLO territory, or rendered powerless by a military ruling-cass that expressed its own ideals and social ranking through its grave goods. In such a society, the confrontation between dukes and between dukes and their sovereign, is regulated by force, and social mediation takes place by means of reference to the values of the gens. Such values are to be found in the edict of Rothari of 643, in which, symptomatically, there is no reference to the town, but on the contrary an exclusively rural vision of culture.** ‘All this leads us to believe that the idea of the town was, for the greater part of the seventh century, intimately linked to the param- eters of military power. It is not therefore due to a lack of preci- sion in the sources, but rather to a profoundly altered reality, that the term civitas is assumed by numerous centres which appear to be very far from the ideal type of the city. The classical city therefore died, not only in its material reality, but also in the ideology of the ruling-class. 5, New Ideas for the Early Medieoal City (from Cunipert to Desiderius) ‘A change, as Paolo Delogu has repeatedly maintained, is evident from the end of the seventh century." After the decisive victory of King Cunipert over Alahis in 689, the two groups into which soci- ty had up until that time been divided, the Catholic and the Arian, merged. With the peace contracted between the Byzantines and the Lombards in 680, long-distance commercial relationships were renewed. From these changes there emerged a class of posssores, both urban and rural, less troubled by military demands, This decisive development is demonstrated archaeologically by important modifications in funerary practice. The deposition of grave goods stopped and is replaced by other marks of social rank: pri- vate chapels, funerary epigraphy (often richly decorated), and dona- © P, Delogy, “T)regno longobando”, in ed. G. Galaso, Storia dala (Torino, von, pp 126, at pe 62-82, © 8 Belogu, “ll reguo longobardo”, pp. 108-112; P. Delogu, “The rebirth of Rome in the Btn and Sth centuries”, in eds. R Hodges and B. Hobley, The Rebirth of Towns in the Wet. A.D. 700-1050, OBA Research Reports 68 (London, 1980}, pp. 82-42; P. Delogu, “La fine del’ mondo antico e nizio del medioevo: nuovi 5 per un veochio problema”, in eds. Francovich and Noyé, La stoi dell medo- (29 ilaane (as cited in Note 6), pp. 7-29, IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 121 tions to religious institutions. This new funerary ideology was given strong encouragement by the foundation in Pavia by King Aripert {ob. 688) of a mausoleum-church dedicated to S. Salvatore, in which he himself and three of his successors were buried; while Queen Rodelinda carried out another highly symbolic act, by building the church of S. Maria in the Lombard cemetery ad perticas—an event described by Gasparri as “pethaps an attempt at exorcism, in order to divert a pagan sacrality into a safely Christian channel.” ‘The changes involved both towns and their territories, an indica~ tion that a new relationship, based on both economic and social structures, was becoming generally established. In the countryside the affirmation, albeit gradual, of the curtis redefines the settlement pattern. A series of new settlement nuclei emerge in key positions (high points or along rivers), nerve centres for the control of the estates which provided the surplus to feed the renewal of the cities themselves. Within the city, no longer exclusively or even prevalently a seat of power, different social forces were at work in the search for ideals around which the elites could gather. A mass of literary, archistorical and archaeological evidence shows that the ideals which ‘emerged, although echoing once again the symbols of the ancient city, were in reality quite new—in that they were produced by a ruling- class now operating within a clearly ecclesiastical environment. ‘The new ideals thus linked the Christian vision of power with the Germanic one, based on concepts of lineage and nation. The king, the major expression of civil power, was the highest synthesis of the new ideal: he was defender of the faith, builder of churches and ‘monasteries, and custodian of the morals of the nation. The “Carmen de snodo tiinensi? is the frst literary document in which we find signs of some of these ideals." Here, the family of King Cunipert are cel- brated as ardent combatants for the true faith: his grandfather Axipert, pius et cattolicus, “abolished the heresy of the Arians and © Gaspari “Pavia longobarda” (as cited in Note 31), p. 57: Morse un tentasivo 4 csangurasione che incanalava la sacralita pagana in unvalvco cristiano,” The rel ‘vant references from Paul the Deacon are: Paulus Diaconus, Fist Lang (as cited in Note 25), 1748, V.34 (S. Maria ad price), and V.37. AM. One, “D santo patrono citadino tra Tardo Antico © Alto Medioevo”, in Dinmaginar religso nla ct madinale (Ravenna, 1985), pp. #1585; AM. Orseli, “Comcensa immagini della cia nelle font tra IV © VI sccolo, in ed. Brogiolo, Easy mdi loums (a8 cited in Note 10), pp. 9-16. fe, @. Waitz, MGI Scriptores reram langobardicarum et italicarum saece VIX (Haanover, 1878), pp. 190-1122 GP, BRogioLo encouraged the growth of the Christian faith”; his father Perctarit “was the builder of a monastery from its foundations” and a staunch ‘opponent of the Jews; while Cunipert himself, with the defeat of the rebel Alahis at Coronate, has put an end to the Aquileian Schism. Cunipert is then also praised for a purely secular undertaking: the restoration of the “semidinia” Modena.® This reference returns us to a pure late antique ideal of the prince as constructor civitats. Inscriptions, embellished with refined sculptural decoration, sur vive from the same cultural courtly milieu at Pavia as the poem (composed by the priest Stephanus at the suggestion of Cunipert himself). Both are the product of a new culture, born out of the collaboration of the court with the high clergy, led for thirty years (rom 681 to 711) by a bishop of eastern origin, Damian, aided by his deacons Barionas and Thomas and by Thomas’ nephew John {all recorded in contemporary inscriptions). This was a clerical circle intent on proselytising, and at the same time on developing a strongly ideological culture, in order to strengthen the hold of Catholicism on Lombard society, in part by reinforcing the position of the royal dynasty then in power.* It was from this cultural milieu, that Bognetti believed there emerged that most exceptional and enigmatic monu- ment of the history of art, the frescoed church of S. Maria fois portas at Catelseprio, A fill development of these ideas is to be found in the epigraphic and literary sources of the time of Liutprand, He was a king who consolidated his power by placing his own relatives in the most important bishoprics: Bishops Theodorus at Milan and Petrus at Pavia. In retum for this he received a folly Christian image of him- self, and came to be remembered solely for those of his acts which ‘were inspired by the faith. The ideology is therefore unchanged from that of the preceding period, but Lombard society is now united, ‘within a kingdom strong enough to unleash violent campaigns against the remaining Byzantine imperial territory. % “conidia nonypata unde Mutinapristino dee retint (he restored to its former splendour the half-ruined city called Modena)". For the archaeological evidence Gelichi, “Modena” (as cited in Note 40). For the inscriptions: Panazza, “Lapidi ¢ scature” (as cited in Note 16) ® GP. Bognett, “Le origin’ della consacrazione del vercovo i Pavia", G.P. Bognett, Lud lngohoda (Milano, 1966), Vol. I, pp. 143-217, IDEAS OF THE TOWN BV ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 123 ‘The inscription from Corteolona, which records the king’s con- structior, of a church in honour of St. Anastasius is highly significant in this respect. Liutprand had decided to erect, on his own estate not far ‘rom Pavia, some royal baths; but having gone to Rome to pray at the tomb of Anastasius, he was inspired instead to found a church in the saint’s honour—a church which glistened with pre- ious marbles and columns brought especially from Rome. The king, who with this act wished to celebrate the triumphs of his people, derived from it eternal glory. The structure of a literary composition of 739 (the Laudes Mediolani civitatis) is more complex, but the inspiration behind it is similar." Within Milanese society of 739, at least in the eyes of the anony- ‘mous ecclesiastical author of the Laudes, only the military class (rbusti cite) is singled out—called upon to yoke the necks of nefandarum gen- fim. At the head of society, stand the pius sex Liutprand and bishop Theodorus, his relative, who had been called by the people to the episcopal throne. ‘The only gesture toward: lay culture is in the glorification of the city and its opulence. The poem is otherwise permeated by allusions to ecclesiastical culture: psalms, prayers, and invocations to God and the saints. Even the emphasis placed on the protection that walls offer, reflects, not an appreciation of the military value of the city, but instead a Christian vision which has as its point of departure the ecclesiastical Jerusalem described in the Apocalypse of John (XX1.9,11), Involvement in secular building does not constitute, there- fore, an occasion to glorify a ruler. The maintenance of walls is a routine operation, and even the foundation of a city by Liutprand (Cittanova: a new administrative centre to replace Modena) is passed over in silence. A similar line of interpretation may also be applied to the elegy that Paul the Deacon composed about Lintprand, describing him as: ‘2 man of great wisdom, wise in council, very pious and a lover of peace, strong in war, clement towards wrongdoers, chaste, virtuous, luntizing in prayer, generous in charity, ignorant of letters but still % Tex: MOH, Pot latnd Madi desi, YV (= Pout art calin, Tp. 106; diseased by La Rocca, “Trasformazioni della cic ahomedievale” [as cited in Note 3), pp. 1008-9, Edited by Pighi, Vosus (as cited in Note124 GP, BROGIOLO deserving to be compared with the philosophers (lteranam quidem ignans, sed philsophis aequandus), father of his people (rutrtor get), increaser of the laws. Scoular virtues (military capability and legislative acts) take second place to religious virtues. It is pointless, therefore, to look to con- temporary sources for the celebration of urban planning and secu- lar architecture. This is now reduced to a stylised backdrop for the Christian iconography which we find in the manuscript illuminations and frescoes of the eighth century. ‘The decline of classical ideals is now complete. The affirmation of the new Christian culture has been consolidated, and is destined to inspire the final decades of Lombard domination. But, while the Church provided the cultural tools needed to create a new political propaganda, it was also removing from secular Lombard power its particular role, and thereby preparing its downfall. Out of these ideals, emerged a new model of town, in which the power of the ceclesiastical hierarchy equalled, if not actually surpassed, that of the lay nobility ‘The example of Brescia seems to me to be once again significant, since we are here dealing with an important town. This is what Paul the Deacon has to say: “The city of Brescia always had a great mul titude of noble Lombards”. From this nobility came two kings (Rothari and Desiderius}, as well as the claimant of the throne Alahis who, a5 T have mentioned, lost the decisive battle against Cunipert. Visible secular control over the town must have continued even into the middle of the cighth century. At this date it was possible for the family of king Desiderius to control, at the same time, both the ducal and royal curts, giving a conspicuous part of their properties to the monastery of S, Salvatore/S. Giulia, where Desiderius’ daughter was, abbess. This was an attempt to create a personal patrimony and a per~ sonal power, by exploiting the ideology of both Christianity and the city through the institution of an urban monastery. But the days of King Liutprand had passed. The kingdom was now divided, and a part of the Lombard ruling-class had failed to take note of a rising ® Paulus Diacomus, HistLang. (as cited in Note 25), VI58, % Paulus Diaconus, Hist Lang, V.36: “Brisa dmigue civas magnam ser neil fom Langoardoram matudine habit” IDEAS OF THE TOWN IN ITALY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD 125 new figure on the scene. The papacy, by involving the Frankish monarchy in the defence of its territorial expansion, now played its own political role, entirely to the detriment of the Lombard king- dom. The policy of Desiderius, a new man “without great prestige, who depended on his place of origin in constructing a power-base”, was therefore destined to fail—even though he could exploit for his enterpr'se some impressive economic resources (the iron mines of the Valeamonica and a large number of estates on the lakes and in the plain), and the best technology and artistic skill of his age.®” The construction of the large monastery of S. Salvatore (Fig. 3) was achieved using specialised craftsmanship and advanced technol- ogy: the supply of water to the monastic baths, for example, entailed the construction of an aqueduct at least 600 m long. The church of S. Salvatore, presumably in origin a chapel of the curtis regia, was rebuilt and richly decorated. A verse epitaph, composed by Paul the Deacon for the tomb of Queen Ansa, and other inscriptions painted within the fresco cycle, celebrated the new royal dynasty. But all this effort did not allow Desiderius to found a dynasty, nor to save his own realm; it was significant in the long run only for the urban development of Brescia. With its accumulation of rural estates and urban areas, the royal monastery was able to expand its economic, and, at the same time, political hegemony over the town. Brescia was only able to free itself from this in the eleventh and ‘twelfth centuries, when the emergent feudal nobility took possession of the monastery, dismnantling its urban rights in favour of them- selves and of the Commune. It seems to me, therefore, that on the basis of the sources available, a close relationship can be established between “ideas” of the town and the “politics” of the age, at least in those periods in which a social dialectic is apparent. By contrast, for a great part of the sev- centh century, there was an obscuring of such “ideas”, when strong politico-military control was exercised, to a point that even put in question the very concept of the cis, extending it to any seat of power. % Quote from Gasparri, “Pavia longobarda” (as cited in Note $1), p. 6 * GC. Andenna, "Il monastero ¢ Fevolusione yrbanistica ci Brevaa tra XI © [MT secolo", Ati de! congo Achaia, sera «are din monasieo regio dat Langer Ronkore Bausin Sete tah Tia on126 GP. BROGIOLO ig. 5. Reconstruction drawing (based on excavated evidence and some stand- ing remain) of the eighth-century church and monastery of S, Salvatore at Brescia {= Diogiolo, Brewis limaial, fg. 72) It is important to emphasise that, eventually, from this phase of urban crisis, the cities of ancient origin, which had maintained or regained control over their territories, re-emerged into position of power. But for most of them, their new position had no real conti- nity with classical times, as is clear in the case of Brescia. It was certainly the size of the urban space defended by the walls, and the size of each dependent hinterland that were the determining factors in their re-emergence. There has been much debate as to whether this renaissance was helped by the survival, perhaps through eccle- siastical mediation, of the idea of the ancient city (as Carandini main- tains), and as to whether it was stimulated by the re-emergence of social classes which had never quite disappeared (even in the period of greatest recession in the seventh century), which a new idea of the town served to hold together.* » A. Carandini, “L'ukima cit sepolta 0 del massimo oggero desueto, secondo tun archeologo”, ed, A. Schiavone, Sirs di Roma, Vol. IIL? (Torino, 1993), pp. 11-37. For a synthesis of the general debace: GP. Brogiolo, “Archaeology of the ‘medieval town in Tealy (1980-1995), Archanlgy and History ofthe Midale dee, KIL international continence UISPP. ell, XXVIF-XXVIN (Rosi. 1998). -99. 21-28 ‘VISUAL IMAGES OF THE TOWN IN LATE ANTIQUITY AND THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES* Carlo Bertelli In the literature and visual arts of the period of transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, the political and religious authorities, the wealth, the daily commodities, and the ornaments of towns are all given a prominent place. Constantinople was the source of many encomia and gave mat- ter for reflection to contemporary historians, while being the pro- moter of great works of art, or more specifically of a new art Notwithstanding a process of profound innovation, the links with the past were not severed; on the contrary, they were exhibited like guar- antees of continuity. So reminders of past ages were welcome within the city walls not just for being famous works of art transferred from elsewhere, but also because they were authentic relics of old Rome.! Other towns were, of course, less self-assertive, but as we shall sec there was a marked difference between the image of a town which cone could have in the ravaged West and that manifest in the more- or-less intact Orient. Rome had a different history from any other town. The sack of the urbs by the Goths in 410 threw a Christian intellectual such as Saint Jerome into despair, but while her authority became more spit- iualised and in that sense more pervasive, the physical survival of the town became a matter of concern for its rulers residing abroad. Tk was in 609 that the emperor Phocas gave the Pantheon to the * The 11th International Congress of Christian Archacclogy devoted a fills sion to the theme of “Liimage de la ville dans Tart et la literature”, with contri- butions by J.G. Deckers, F Biscont, D. Korol,F, Rickert, U. Konen, PA, Fevter, 1%. Barra (Alter, See Acts di XI" CongésIemationel dArchioogie Crime, (Cit el Vaticano, 1985), pp. 1281-1403. All che contributions provided excellent mater Fal for reflection and documentation, The present arcle however follows a diferent approsch. "'G. Dagron, Naisance done copia, Constentiople of ser instiuins de $30 8 451, 2nd ed. (Pais, 1994); ed HLG. Beck, Sain aw Prulgeckche Rentmsnpls, Miscellanea Bvzantina Monacensia 14 (Munich 1973)