Urban identities in Northern Italy (800-1100 ca.)

The book aims to reflect on the characteristics of urban centers of the kingdom of Italy between the ninth and the eleventh centuries, filling a noticeable historiographical gap. The cities in Northern Italy in this period have not yet been analysed with a multidisciplinary approach, able to outline their specific and distinctive characteristics and to pose this ages in relation to the post-Roman past and also to the following 'Communal' phase. Urban identities are examined from different points of view: from a political perspective, in relation to the dialectic between center and periphery and to the border areas of the kingdom; from an institutional and territorial standing point, analyzing the structures of local power and public territorializations; according to social and military history approaches, highlighting the continuities and transformations in comparison with former and following centuries. The issue of urban identities is also archaeologically investigated in relation to urban development and to topographic transformations, and culturally explored, examining mutual exchanges between the cities of the kingdom. Another aspect rarely addressed by previous literature is ultimately to compare the results of this research on the Italic kingdom with studies on the Transalpine Carolingian and post-Carolingian empire and kingdoms, outlining common trends, but also specific peculiarities.