Andrea Mariani

Lo studio riesamina la documentazione inerente ai cosiddetti «Conti di Lecco», mettendo in luce alcune criticità delle vecchie analisi e proponendo una nuova ricostruzione fondata sulla probabile presenza nell’arco alpino, fra i secoli IX e X, di piccoli comitatus territoriali con funzioni militari di presidio. In parallelo, viene riconsiderato il tema della «dissoluzione» del patrimonio dell’ultimo comes, Attone. Alcuni indizi, infine, suggerirebbero che la serie di questi comites possa non appartenere a un unico lignaggio.

This study reviews the documents concerning the so-called «Counts of Lecco.» Some critical aspects of old analyses are highlighted. A new interpretation is proposed, based on the plausible existence in the Alps of small military comitatus with garrison functions between the ninth and tenth centuries. Furthermore, the theme of the «dissolution» of the heritage of the last comes, Attone, is reconsidered. Lastly, some clues would suggest that these comites might not belong to a single lineage.

A few documents of the Lombard Period (7th–8th centuries) mention specific lands known as case tributarie. Some of these were part of the Curtis Regia (i. e. the Fiscus), while others may have been owned by private individuals. All of them disappeared after the dissolution of the Lombard Kingdom. Their features have never been examined in depth: the case tributarie are generally considered an equivalent of the case massaricie, i. e. centres of agricultural production managed by tenant farmers. This hypothesis is in agreement with the most recent conclusions of scholars, who rule out the existence of general taxation in the Lombard Kingdom; however, the sources seem to suggest a different framework. By analysing these sources, we can access information of help in interpreting both the functions and the main features of the case tributarie, and in indicating some peculiar features of the Lombard administration. To achieve this aim, we first introduce the few surviving documents mentioning the case tributarie and analyse some of their principal features and problems. We then discuss the historiographical interpretations hitherto proposed. Finally, we suggest a different model, and its application to a specific case study.

The study aims to clarify some specific issues concerning the occupation of ecclesiastical estates by private persons at the beginning of fourteenth century within the Milanese territory. This phenomenon seems rather typical of that period. By then, rural communes had grown in importance and a new class of local aristocrats had emerged, who hardly suffered from empowerment restrictions due to longstanding ecclesiastical privileges.
We shall consider the representative case of Capiate, most likely a public property in the Lombard Age, and later a possession of the Monastery of Sant’Ambrogio of Milan. During the first months of 1312, an apparently ordinary purchase of lands by the monastery hides a complex swap operation involving Capiate estates. Such an exchange passed through a sequence of deeds and a temporary cash deposit, in order to extend its span and, perhaps, to cover uneven values attributed to the lands. The counter-parties to the monastery were the noble Febo Della Torre and Obizo de Bernadigio, the latter being a strong supporter of the Della Torre family. This transaction tightly interwines with the destiny of this family, who were banished from Milan in the same period.
The specific ‘technical’ features of the deeds and the role of the persons involved can be entirely understood through focusing on the social and political context.

A few documents of the Lombard Period (7th–8th centuries) mention specific
lands known as case tributarie. Some of these were part of the Curtis Regia (i. e.
the Fiscus), while others may have been owned by private individuals. All of them
disappeared after the dissolution of the Lombard Kingdom. Their features have never
been examined in depth: the case tributarie are generally considered an equivalent
of the case massaricie, i. e. centres of agricultural production managed by tenant
farmers. This hypothesis is in agreement with the most recent conclusions of scholars,
who rule out the existence of general taxation in the Lombard Kingdom; however,
the sources seem to suggest a different framework. By analysing these sources, we can access information of help in interpreting both the functions and the main features of
the case tributarie, and in indicating some peculiar features of the Lombard administration.
To achieve this aim, we first introduce the few surviving documents mentioning
the case tributarie and analyse some of their principal features and problems.
We then discuss the historiographical interpretations hitherto proposed. Finally, we
suggest a different model, and its application to a specific case study.

The 'Monastero di Sant'Ambrogio' was established in Milan around the year 784 AD and was placed under protection of the Frankish kings. It rapidly became the most beloved religious institution of the Frankish and Lombard aristocracies. Its wealth increased quickly, due to the charity of several grants by private subjects, from their personal belongings, and by emperors, from the royal treasury. The Capiate territory was one of the earliest recorded donations, but, in contrast to other properties, its history has never been studied. Notwithstanding, Capiate is probably the only possession of this monastery where we can still find well-preserved buildings dating from the monastic period, and an uninterrupted series of documents covering the period from the Middle Ages up to today.

SOMMARIO: Nel 1480 un cardinale portoghese inviava da Roma al principe Giovanni di Portogallo (il futuro re Giovanni II, 1481-1495) una lettera nella quale descriveva la recente evoluzione politica della penisola italica. Il presente articolo, che riporta il documento in originale e in traduzione italiana, ne analizza le caratteristiche formali e identifica i protagonisti coinvolti, nel tentativo di interpretare il suo significato nel contesto della diplomazia del XV secolo. ABSTRACT: In 1480, a Portuguese cardinal who was in Rome sent a letter to Prince John of Portugal (future King John II, 1481-1495) describing the recent evolution of the political situation in the Italian Peninsula. This article, which presents the document in its original form and its Italian translation, analyses the formal characteristics of the document and identifies the characters involved, seeking to interpret its meaning in the context of the fifteenth-century diplomacy.

In 1480, a Portuguese cardinal who was in Rome sent a letter to Prince John of Portugal (future King John II, 1481-1495) describing the recent evolution of the political situation in the Italian Peninsula. This article, which presents the document in its original form and its Italian translation, analyses the formal characteristics of the document and identifies the characters involved, seeking to interpret its meaning in the context of the fifteenth-century diplomacy

The Insula Comacina reported in the Historia Langobardorum by Paolus Diaconus is
usually recognized as being the Island in the Como Lake. This identification dates up to
the eighteenth century, and it is universally accepted a priori, despite of the lack of
critical analysis. By analogy, is usually accepted the equivalence of the adjectives
cumanus and comacinus, notwithstanding that such parity is implausible in Latin
grammar. Many clues suggest a different interpretation.
We considered documentary sources from ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries, and
literature prior to the eighteenth century. From our research we could deduce the
existence not only of an Insula Comacina, but also of a Lacus Comacinus, as well as a
land Comacina and a folk Comacinus. These four entities revolve around the
hydrographical basin of the Como Lake, but far from the Island and far from its inland.
The Lacus Comacinus is not synonym with Como Lake but only represents a portion of
it, and this portion is different from the one where the Island lies. Accurately, it involves
its sole eastern branch. The Insula Comacina, in the history of Lombards, is to be
interpreted as a part of a land delimited by two confluent rivers, as others insulae which
appear in middle-age sources. Such particular definition for the word insula dates up to
Polybius, but it is not registered in modern lexica and dictionaries.
Not far from the modern city of Lecco, by the eastern branch of Como Lake, we have
identified an area which shows the characteristics of the insulae polybianae. In this
area, the presence of lombard families is reported and well-established in sources of
eighth century. Consequently, a new hypothesis regarding the actual location of Insula
Comacina can be proposed.

The aim of this contribution is to illustrate our experience with the experimentation of embossed decorations. As a re-enactment group (Popolo di Brig, Italy) focused on Celts and Ligurians of the second Iron Age, we reproduce objects and/or decorations often made with the embossing technique: helmets, jewels, brooches, belt hooks and various appliques. In spite of the abundance of such artefacts, we are facing an evident lack of tools that can be clearly identified as the embossing ones. Even when a finding is preserved well enough to be classified as a tool, it is quite impossible to define its particular function. We have therefore reconstructed tools in various materials, practically experimenting them to verify which ones gave the most similar results to the preserved findings. This allowed us to propose a more appropriate craft activity both in events of historical re-enactment and during didactic internships at museums and schools. 1 BA in Architecture, Artisan and Embosser-APS Popolo di Brig, Vimercate (IT) 2 MA in History (Medieval), PhD Candidate (History) at University of Oporto (PT); FCT PhD Grant holder (PT); Researcher of CITCEM (PT)-Secretary and founder of the APS Popolo di Brig, Vimercate (IT). 3 BA (pre Bologna) in Archaeology (Etruscology), Artisan, Professor in high school-President and founder of the APS Popolo di Brig, Vimercate (IT)

The aim of this session is to study Bishop of Oporto Hugh, a key figure to understand the transformation of Portugal of the 12th century. Hailing from France, he was archdeacon in Compostela under Diego Gelmírez and consecrated bishop by Maurice of Braga, Hugh dealt with the most important problems of his time: the conflict between the See of Compostela and Braga; the political evolution of the County of Portugal and the Bishopric restoration; the relations with the Papacy. The study of Hugh will reveal a very peculiar image of an Iberian medieval Bishop: clergyman; politician, writer and tireless traveller.

Il volume è edito nel solo formato elettronico, e può essere scaricato gratuitamente dalla pagina “Pubblicazioni” del sito dell’Associazione http://www.capiate.org/Sito/Pubblicazioni.htm
oppure direttamente dal seguente link:
http://goo.gl/vLj40I (circa 68.5 MB)

L’ Associazione Capiate-Radici nel Futuro ONLUS è lieta di comunicare la pubblicazione degli atti della Giornata di Studi tenutasi il 21 maggio 2016, dal titolo: “La Curtis di Capiate fra tardo antico e medioevo”
Il volume è edito nel solo formato elettronico, e può essere scaricato gratuitamente dalla pagina “Pubblicazioni” del sito dell’Associazione http://www.capiate.org/Sito/Pubblicazioni.htm
oppure direttamente dal seguente link:
http://goo.gl/vLj40I (circa 68.5 MB)

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I curatori

Andrea Mariani
Fabio Carminati