cantini 2007 early medieval europe

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Blackwell Publishing LtdOxford, UKEMEDEarly Medieval Europe0963-9462 © 2007 The Author.Journal Compilation © Blackwell Publishing LtdXXXOriginal Articles

Siena in the early Middle AgesFederico Cantini

Siena in the early Middle Ages:new data from the excavation at

Santa Maria della Scala

F

C

The data from excavations around the hospital of Santa Maria in Siena help to build a picture of the city in the early Middle Ages. Comparison is made with the rural site of Montarrenti, and significant differences between the economic development in the town and country are observed,although both suffered decline. Settlement, and economic activity in the city of Siena are seen to go into recession in the post-Roman period, but signs of growth become visible from the ninth century onwards.

Introduction

This essay summarizes the results of the data processing following strati-graphic investigations directed recently in Siena. More specifically, theinvestigations took place in that part of the city occupied by the Santa Maria della Scala hospital from the tenth century onwards (Fig. 1). Theresearch was led by Riccardo Francovich and Daniele Manacorda, while

Alessandra Molinari and Emanuele Papi coordinated the team working at the excavation. This organization enabled us to meet the variousdemands of the investigation, that is, from the actual dig, the stratigraphicanalysis and a subsequent anthropological study. So far, forty-four areashave been investigated in different ways and with different degrees of accuracy. In some cases, the entire archaeological remains were studied,while in others the team simply recorded what the renovation of a building brought to light day by day.

*

This essay is a summary of my doctoral thesis, now published in F. Cantini, Archaeologia urbana a Siena. L’area dell’Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala prima dell’Ospedale Altomedioevo

(Florence, 2005). It is also a tribute to the time Professor Riccardo Francovich has kindly devoted to me. The study of glassware was possible thanks to Maria Mendera and Cristina Galgani, while that of the metal objects was provided by Maddalemna Belli. Cristina Cicaliand Cristiano Viglietti studied the coins.


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In this essay, the focus is on the stratigraphic analysis related to twelveareas – namely areas 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000, 10000, 13000, 17000,18000, 29000, 39000, 73000 and 891000. These areas are located onthree levels, each corresponding to three large terraces on the southernslope of the hill, on the top of which Siena’s cathedral is built (Fig. 2).The stratigraphies analysed in this essay preserve remains that could bedated to a period between the fourth and tenth centuries CE, which is

before the first settlement of the hospital buildings actually took place.

The results of the archaeological investigation: new data onthe city of Siena between the fourth and tenth centuries

The written sources we have do not allow us to to reconstruct thelayout of the city in the period between the fourth and the tenthcenturies. The study of the data derived from the excavations at theSanta Maria della Scala hospital, however, allow us to observe the evo-lution from the late antique to the early medieval landscape. One of themost immediate differences consists of the predominance of stonebuildings in the first period and that of wood buildings, huts and ruinsin the latter. Later, during the ninth and tenth centuries, stone buildingswitnessed a revival, pointing to a rebirth of the city in the later Middle

Fig. 1 View from above the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, highlighted to theleft of the cathedral (Picture by the University of Siena)


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F i g . 2 L o c a t i o n

o f t h e h o s p i t a l i n t h r e e l e v e l s o f t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l c o m p l e x , w i t h a n i n d i c a t i o n o f

e x c a v a t e d a r e a s


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Ages. In this context, this survey will also consider the economicorganization of the city through the analysis of ceramics, glasswares,metalwares and coins.

To understand in depth the forms of early medieval settlementsthough, we need to go back in time as far as the second century BCE.In this period three very large terraces were built on the slope of thehill on which the cathedral now stands, so as to allow urban settlementon this part of the hill. The hill was in fact quickly occupied by stonebuildings, buildings made with perishable materials, partly under-ground rooms, and containers for the storage of agricultural products.Settlement in this part of the city slowed down between the second tothird century and the second half of the fourth century AD, which

confirms that this was a time of crisis for urban life that also seems tohave extended to Castelvecchio and to the area of the cathedral, wheresome burials appear for the first time.

Later, a new urban vitality is evident between the fourth and fifthcentury, when a building displaying a monumental entrance waserected on the second terrace of the hill. The building is characterizedby two apses, and may be identified as a bath, as the excavationsrevealed the fragments of pipes and of coating marble slabs. The

identification as a bath is also suggested by the planimetric comparisonwith other imperial and late antique buildings.

1

The evidence we can determine from the ceramics circulating inSiena in late antiquity shows a city open to trade in the Mediterranean.In fact, we know of amphorae (Africana II, Keay LII and the Empolione) and African red slip wares (H. 67, L. 42, H. 61B, L. 9A), althoughonly in very small numbers. This pottery appears next to red slipwareof local production, which is far more numerous. Probably, the localred slip, with their close and small open forms, also compensated for

1

C. Corvo, 3. Le terme

, in M. Munzi and N. Terrenato (eds), Volterra. Il teatro e le terme

(Florence, 2000) (Volterra). Y. Thébert, Thermes romains d’Afrique du nord et leur contexte Méditeranéen. Études d’histoire et d’archéologie

(Rome, 2003), pl. LVIII–LIX, pp. 608–9(

Thuburbo Maius

, thermes d’été, Tunisia); pl. LXXV, p. 625 (Cuicul, grands thermes Sud, Algeria); pl. LXXXV, p. 635 (

Lambaesis

, thermes des chasseurs, Asclepieium, Algeria); pl. CLI,p. 701 (Rome, thermes de Caracalla, Dioclétien, Constantin); pl. CLX, p. 701 (Rome,thermes du baptistére); pl. CLXII, p. 712 (thermes de Theveste); pl. CLXIV, p. 714 (Piazza Armerina, thermes de la villa). I. Nielsen, Thermae et Balnea: The Architecture and Cultural History of Roman Public Baths

, Vol. 1 Text

, Vol. 2 Catalogue and Plates

(Aarhus, 1993),p. 105, Fig. 88 (Firenze, Etruria, Regio VII), p. 113, Fig. 98 (

Augusta Treverorum

, ImperialBaths, Gallia Belgica), p. 133, Fig. 135 (

Aesica

, Baths, Britannia), p. 134, Fig. 138 (Collen,

Castellum Baths, Britannia), p. 138, Fig. 144 (

Colonia Ulpia Traiana

, City Baths, Germania Inferior), p. 139, Fig. 145 (

Arae Flaviae

, City Baths, Germania Superior), p. 142, Fig. 148(

Aventicum

, City Baths, Germania Superior), p. 145, Fig. 154 (

Mogontiacum

, Legionary Baths,Germania Superior), p. 146, Fig. 156 (Saalburg, Castellum Baths, Germania Superior), p. 147,Fig. 158 (Stockstadt, Castellum Baths, Germania Superior), Fig. 159 (Welzheim, CastellumBaths, Germania Superior), p. 156, Fig. 173 (

Serdica

, City Baths, Thracia), p. 213, Fig. 213(Kôm-el-Dosheh, Baths, Aegyptus).


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Tunisian red slip ware is still attested alongside dishes (H. 84 andH. 87B), bowls (H. 94 and H. 99) and flanged bowls (H. 91B). Theseceramics were soon copied in the local red slip production.9

This technique enabled the production of a wide range of domesticequipment, including goblets, bowls, jugs, flanged bowls and dressing table containers. As for kitchen equipment, local or regional productsin coarse fabrics started to increase. The production included jars, oftenwith band edges, casseroles, pans, strainers, bowls with decorated edgesand lids with disk handgrips. However, there is no evidence of kitchendishes like testi (baking equipment). Lighting was still provided by African oil lamps (types VIII D2 and XAia), of which a very smallnumber were found, and by copies of these made of fine clay. The

presence of Phocean red slipware is not attested. 10 Finally, chalices andgoblets without a stem make their appearance as the first glass samplesof early medieval tradition.

The crisis in the settlement in this part of the city seems to becomemore noticeable between the second half of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century: the late antique layers continue to be coveredby a thick layer of dark earth11 while at the same time the building withthe two apses becomes the target of severe spoliation. The fact that

Roman imperial glass panels were found during the excavation is prob-ably the result of the destruction of Roman imperial buildings.

9 For more information on the problem of the imitations of African slip in Italy, see S.Fontana, ‘Le “imitazioni” della sigillata africana e le ceramiche da mensa italiche tardo-antiche’, in L. Saguì (ed.), Ceramica in Italia: VI–VII secolo , Atti del Convegno in onore di John W. Hayes (Roma, 11–13 maggio 1995) (Florence, 1998), pp. 83–100.

10 For a summary of its production, see A. Martin, ‘La sigillata focese (Phocean Red-Slip/Late Roman C Ware)’, in Saguì (ed.), Ceramica in Italia , pp. 109–22.

11 Within the Tuscan cities, the appearance of thick dark earth deposits can be dated from the

third to the sixth century. They are attested in Lucca in the third century in deserted areasof the city: Ciampoltrini and Notini, Lucca tardoantica , pp. 567–70; for Fiesole see M.C.Favilla, ‘Fiesole’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , p. 49. It is a limited phenomenonbetween the third and fourth century within a framework of general renaissance. In Volterra we have evidence of dark earth between the fourth and the sixth century. Here it seems toindicate the presence of deserted areas, which were converted into kitchen gardens, or areaswith a high concentration of perishable materials or waste: see Alberti, ‘Volterra’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , pp. 76–7. The vertical city growth in Tuscan cities, which is actually a typical tendency of most Italian cities, has been explained in many ways: see Brogiolo andGelichi, La città , pp. 90–2. It has been variously suggested that it was the consequence of natural disasters (a big flood in Verona and in Rome, Venice and the Liguria is recorded by Paul the Deacon for 589; alluvial sediments were found in Modena, Concordia, Altino and

Brescia); the result of the destruction of buildings of perishable material; the evidence of thepresence of production activities within the city or else the result of long continuities in thesame areas; the consequence of the collapse of the waste disposal system and the creation of kitchen gardens in deserted areas. This latter explanation is also supported by the Justinianiclegislation that promulgated new rules as for the private building business on the basis of ancient laws. Thus, it orders the transformation of a neglected house into a kitchen garden:Pani Ermini, La ‘città di pietra’ , p. 253.


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If this picture of urban settlement is rather pessimistic, pottery shows that the exchanges with North African workshops still had notyet stopped, from which come, although in very small numbers, the

H. 91C flanged bowls and the large dishes, H. 104C and plates, 105B.12

The decline of imports seems not to have corresponded to a drop inthe demand for the products, because this period registers a markedincrease in the local ceramic production. The production of local redslip ware widened its array of shapes thus including bowls, goblets, jugs,flanged bowls and basins. Decoration with red slip drippings also startsto appear on jugs, on large containers with extroverted rims and onflanged bowls. What is more, even though some kitchen sets were madefrom unrefined clay, the forms of coarse kitchen ware started to become

very diverse and now included not only jars and saucepans, but alsotesti . The local red slipware from the seventh century, however, oftentends to assume a dull red slip. Glassware sets now witness the intro-duction of chalices, glasses and lamps. The absence of current coinagewas a direct consequence of the depression in the Mediterranean area.This condition came to be a feature of the entire early Middle Ages,although we cannot exclude the possibility that some Roman coinsmight have continued to circulate in this period.

If we consider the picture that emerges from the study of pottery with its rich and high-quality tableware, it is evident that there is somecontradiction between this and the picture of the declining urban land-scape that we drew from the stratigraphical data. However, this contra-diction is only superficial and it could be explained if we assumed thatthis side of the hill started to turn into a rural area and was used asa dump, as residential structures were absent from the beginning of the sixth century on. In the meantime, other areas of the city continuedto be inhabited. The remaining urban space, probably extended from

Santa Maria to Castelvecchio.The marginality of the Santa Maria area seems to extend to the firsthalf of the seventh century, when large amounts of rubble, alternating withthick layers of dark earth, covered the areas that had been urbanized during the Roman period. Also, burials started to appear in these areas. The burialswere arranged as to form a sort of small cemetery among the ruins of thelate antique apses13 with graves in simple earth interments.14 Furthermore,

12 For an overview on the import of red African slip ware to Italy between the sixth and seventh

century, S. Tortorella, ‘La sigillata africana in Italia nel VI e nel VII s. d. C.: problemi dicronologia e distribuzione’, in Saguì (ed.), Ceramica in Italia , pp. 41–69.

13 In 2003, these stratigraphies were analysed by Silvia Pellecchi and Chiara Saffiotti, whom Ithank for providing me with the excavation data.

14 On burials within the urban environment see G. Cantino Wataghin, ‘The Ideology of UrbanBurials’, in G.P. Brogiolo and B. Ward-Perkins (eds), The Idea and Ideal of the Town between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (Brill, 1999), pp. 147–80, and in particular pp. 158–60.


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there are many other examples in Tuscany of the presence of graveswithin the urban area, especially inside abandoned baths. In Florence,for example, a small burial group dating to the sixth century is attested

in the area of Piazza della Signoria and San Giovanni;15

other examplesderive from Lucca,16 Fiesole,17 Volterra,18 Arezzo,19 and finally Luni.20

After a certain period of time, the area above the ditch of S. Ansano – which marks the southern border of the hospital complex –was no longer used as a cemetery and buildings start to reappear. A long wall was built using rubble that was stuck together with clay. Thiswall was probably supposed to surround or defend21 the uphill side,

15 Mirandola, Firenze , pp. 63–4.16 In the southern part of the city of Lucca, near Palazzo Lippi, a cemetery area was found

dating to the fifth/sixth century, with remains in earth interments. The interments wereorientated north–south and east–west: Ciampoltrini and Notini, Lucca , p. 57. Also, a fifth-century cemetery was found within the building dedicated to the Roman martyr Vincent.The interments are rectangular and in the shape of a human body: their orientation is north–south (E. Abela, ‘Lucca’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , pp. 28–9).

17 Fourth-century AD burials were found in Fiesole, in the area of Piazza Garibaldi. In somecases, they are linked with small coin treasures Favilla, ‘Fiesole’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , p. 49. As for the sixth/seventh century, burials are attested both within and outsidethe city walls. Internal burials were, for example, those around and inside the Roman temple’scella : perhaps this building had been transformed into a Christian cult site. Other similarexamples are the baths, whose collocation was north of the theatre, and the Sant’Alessadro

church square. No equipment was found, apart from a small golden cross. In the formerMino da Fiesole square, now Piazza Garibaldi, other objects were found: some ceramic jugs,glass chalices, weapons and belt buckles. The Via Matteotti necropolis is situated outside thewalls (Favilla, ‘Fiesole’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , pp. 51–3).

18 Burials were also found in Volterra’s city centre. An external necroplis (Badia-Montebradoni)is used until the sixth century (Alberti, ‘Volterra’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , p. 79).

19 Negrelli, ‘Arezzo’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , pp. 99–102.20 It is possible to date to the sixth century the introduction in Luni of city burials in simple or

unlined graves. The various burials were gathered in cemeteries, as for example the cathedralcemetery. However, scattered burials or burials in small, isolated groups are also attested(Bandini, ‘Luni’, in Abela et al ., Archeologia urbana , p. 19).

21 In Italy, the cases of early medieval walls are apparently rare, while the new defence works,

however small, are for the most part to be dated to the late Roman period. This is the caseof Bologna (third/fourth century), Brescia, Mantova (post-third century), Parma (third cen-tury), Susa (third century), Rimini (third century), Milan (fourth century) and Ravenna (beginning of fifth century): see Brogiolo and Gelichi, La città , pp. 55–8, 62. As for Pisa, thedating of the walls is difficult, though they apparently date to the eleventh century. Theexistence of a Roman set of walls is questionable (S. Gelichi, ‘Le mura inesistenti e la città dimezzata. Note di topografia pisana altomedievale’, Archeologia Medievale 25 (1998),pp. 75–88). In the early Middle Ages, it was rather common to repair the existing defencestructure (Brogiolo and Gelichi, La città , pp. 59–60). In Como the first-century BC wallswere strengthened with a set of towers in the ninth/tenth or twelfth century. In Lucca theRoman wall was restored in the sixth century. In Florence, the first-century BC walls wereused. Both the construction of the walls in Benevento and the enlargement of Salerno’s were

made in the Longobard period. There are a few cases of new constructions started fromscratch. An example is the Leonine Walls in Rome, dating to the ninth century and builtaround the Vatican seat. Other original walls are those in Leopoli, which were also built by the church (Brogiolo and Gelichi, La città , pp. 72–4). The aristocracy also had walls built inorder to protect its own palaces, which often were re-used ancient monuments. Examples arethe late Carolingian castrum aureum near Balbo’s monument, or the Palatine walls or themodifications to Marcellos’ theatre.


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where some wooden structures were built. In one case, the woodenstructure exploits what is left of the late antique walls by leaning on them.22

As for trade, relationships with North Africa are now absent, and aswe have seen, the local production of good-quality red slipware doesnot seem to continue. The array of tableware is dominated by local dullred slip ware, undecorated fine ware or ware decorated with red drops.The dull red slip forms include bowls, jugs, flanged bowls whose rimsare extremely varied, basins and bottles. This period and the one fol-lowing see the maximum diffusion of decoration with red drops, asevidenced by the large amount of finds. Moreover, the items are very varied in form, including jugs, goblets, large containers with an extro-

verted rim, flanged bowls, basins and bowls. The undecorated finepottery also displays a considerable variety, with goblets, jugs, pitchersand flanged bowls, basins with introverted rims and, more rarely,bowls. Among the kitchenware, a new entry is the lidded basin with anexternal ledged handgrip. As far as the glassware is concerned, the array has not significantly modified since the previous period and it stillshows chalices, lamps and bottles.

The data at our disposal allow us to draw a rough picture of eco-

nomic changes in the first half of the seventh century. This period inSiena is characterized by the absence of long-distance imports as else-where in central and northern Italy. However, not only were the ceramicgoods high quality ones, they were also used in a variety of ways. Thisshows that the settlements were not simple huts or ruins, as the onebeneath Santa Maria Maggiore seems to be. Later on, between the secondhalf of the seventh and the eighth century, the transition to the early Middle Ages becomes evident with the fall of a wall defining thesouthern limit of the area above the Sant’Ansano ditch. Nevertheless,

this apparently did not prevent locals from occupying this area of thecity, where some other buildings were erected with a mixed technique,that is, by using wooden posts together with the ruins of an ancientwall. As soon as these structures were deserted, new deposits of dark earth were layered. Then, a new wooden building was erected by using both the remains of the north-western semi-apsis of the lateantique building, which had not been completely dismantled near to a more recent a secco wall. This latter wall was built in the same position

22 On the subject of the rebirth of simple architecture within the ancient and deeply deacyedcity area, see Brogiolo and Gelichi, La città , pp. 122–35.


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as the previous one. Furthermore, it probably inherited its old defensivefunction.23

Local red slip ware is absent from the stratigraphies of this period,

while the ware is residual unglazed red. Instead, the production of reddrippings ware grows and includes new forms, such as lids and glasses.The glass is now a form that is also produced with fine materials,together with bowls, pitchers, jugs, lids and basins with extrovertedrims. The kitchenware is now composed of casseroles, pans, ledgedvases, lids, testi and jars. The sample of glassware items is enriched by the presence of the balm holder.

The predominant impression we have of the relationship between thesettlement and the types of pottery ware is still that of a strong contrast.

This contrast only disappears in the ninth century, when the use of building techniques exploiting stone and lime apparently goes togetherwith a more refined pottery, such as forum-ware glazed jugs decoratedwith petals. As soon as the production of local red slipware ceased, these jugs started to constitute tableware – alongside glasses and undecorated,or sometimes red-dropped, jugs. The kitchenware was made up of pitchers, funnels, bowls and basins, which are all generally undecorated.Everyday kitchen ware starts to be less varied and now include only

bowls with lids, casseroles, testi and jars. Glassware items also under-went a similar reduction in variety and as a result chalices and lampswere the only items available. By contrast, metal items are more varied,thanks to the introduction of iron utensils for woodworking. Thesetools may have been used in the construction sites for the new stonebuildings, and also for the construction of wooden cabins, which werestill a feature of Siena’s urban landscape.

As far as settlement is concerned, this period begins with the fall of the long wall crossing the terrace above the Sant’Ansano ditch. On the

layers of rubble, a number of wooden structures succeeded each other,the last of which is an oval cabin, with a roof made of perishablematerial. In the ninth century, the neglect of this building led to layers

23 The picture that this part of Siena offers apparently does not include traces of the properstone buildings, which in Italian cities start to reappear between the seventh and eighthcenturies. They were commissioned by royal representatives, and, from the end of the seventhcentury also by private individuals and the bishop. Generally, these buildings are churches,monasteries, mausoleums, palaces or houses of a certain standard, as in the one next to S.Giulia in Brescia (Brogiolo and Gelichi, La città , pp. 136–44). The use of prestigious building techniques seems also to be evidenced by written records. The house of the magister militum Mauricius , which is mentioned in a source dating to AD 748–69, was a two-storey, stonebuilding. The first floor consisted of five bedrooms and a living room, while a cellar andmaybe a shop were on the ground floor (Brogiolo and Gelichi, La città , p. 136). TheMemoratorium de magistris comacinis , dating to the end of the seventh or to the beginning of the eighth century, mentions the complex techniques which were necessary to produce tiles,clay tubes and lime, to chisel, or to build wooden and stone houses with one or two storeysthat were endowed with fireplaces, ovens and underfloor heating.


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of dark earth deposits, on which new, good-quality stone structureswere built. Two walls made with stone and Roman bricks and mortaredwith good-quality lime are attested, which, however, at the moment are

still difficult to interpret. Even though it was now possible to usestone24 instead of wood, wooden constructions are still present andcontinue throughout the tenth to the twelfth centuries, when a rectan-gular hut is built on this site.25

A new phase of settlement is then initiated by the building of a large,roughly squared structure in hewn limestone and sandstone, which waspositioned horizontally and mortared with lime. This building waslocated behind the Sant’Ansano ditch and orientated from east to west.The pottery we found in the stratigraphies of this period show few types

made of undecorated fine and unrefined coarse pottery, that is, jugs,basins, jars, testi and a spindle. The glass items now show a definitechange, with long-stemmed, thick glass chalices making their appear-ance. This product signals a certain elegance and it is perhaps to belinked to the lifestyle in the new stone buildings.

Eventually, the landscape in the following century will be character-ized by the presence of a number of underground constructions, whichare probably the cellae recorded in written sources from the eleventh

century on. These constructions characterized the entire hillside, beforeit became a construction site for the Santa Maria della Scala hospital.

A comparison between city and countryside: Siena andMontarrenti in the early Middle Ages

After having defined the features of the early medieval city, we will now try to compare them with the data that emerged from the study of Montarrenti, a village to the south-west of Siena (Fig. 3).26 The data we

24 In Pisa, in the excavations of Piazza Dante, there also is archaeological evidence of stonebuildings between the ninth and the tenth century. See F. Redi, ‘Le strutture materiali el’edilizia medievale nell’area dello scavo’, in S. Bruni (ed.), Pisa. Piazza Dante: uno spaccato della storia pisana. La campagna di scavo 1991 (Pontedera, 1993), pp. 187–234, and in particularpp. 200–2. Other parts of Italy show cases of buildings of good technical standard, dating between the ninth and the tenth century (Brogiolo and Gelichi, La città , pp. 145–6). InRome, two-storey rectangular-shaped buildings were found; they were made with spoils andbuilt within a public space, with a porch overlooking the street, with outbuildings and a toilet. In Ravenna, two-storey stone houses are present; in Milan, between the eighth and theninth century, we know of buildings of 3 × 12 m dimensions along a street, which featuredry walls that were coated with fragmented bricks and cemented with lime, and had floors

of pressed earth.25 Wooden structures are also signalled in ninth-century documents (Brogiolo and Gelichi,La città , pp. 148–9: ‘si tratta di case ad un piano, construite in argilla e legno, talora affiancata ad una strada’), and characterized by porches but rarely endowed with balnea and toilets.Such buildings are present in Piadena, Ferrara, Fidenza, Mantova, Bologna and Oderzo.

26 F. Cantini, Lo scavo archeologico del castello di Montarrenti (Siena). Per la storia della formazi- one del villaggio medievale in Toscana (secc. VII–XV) (Florence, 2003).


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have concern the period between the second half of the seventh cen-tury and the eleventh century.27 This comparative anlysis should helpus verify if these two settlement contexts in early medieval Tuscany present analogies or contrasts, especially from the viewpoint of material

culture.28

Before continuing though, it is necessary to point out that thetwo excavations have been carried out with different archaeologicalmethods. In Siena, the percentage of archaeological remains is rathersmall, especially for the period of time in which this study is mostinterested; also, the area on which we have worked is not very large. Onthe other hand, Montarrenti has been studied closely and the invest-igated samples are scattered over the entire surface of the village.

The excavations in Montarrenti allow us to reconstruct the shape of a first village we can date between the second half of the seventh and

27 The fifth and sixth centuries have not been considered, because the hill on which Montarrentilies began to be settled only after the mid-seventh century.

28 On countryside settlement in early medieval Tuscany, see R. Francovich and R. Hodges, Villa to Village (London, 2003), and M. Valenti, L’insediamento altomedievale nelle campagne toscane (Florence, 2004).

Fig. 3 Location of the site of Montarrenti


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the first half of the eighth century. The village was focused on a centreand fortified. It consisted of small rectangular or oval cabins, whichwere covered by roofs of perishable material while the floors were made

of pressed clay. The cabins were defended by two wooden fences enclos-ing the upper and lower part of the hill (Fig. 4).In this period there are no stone buildings in Montarrenti, whereas

they are present in Siena: their presence in the city probably being linked to the greater availability of building material there. The materialcame from deserted Roman buildings, which were heavily quarried.Subsequently, the stones were mixed with clay and tile fragments. Gen-erally, stone was not used in residential buildings. These were still madeof wood and often attached to the ruins of ancient Roman buildings.Stone was used for the erection of a wall, which was perhaps used fordefence, on the hillside above the Sant’Ansano ditch. Certainly, thesmall area of the investigated site – if compared to the totality of thecity area – does not allow us to exclude the presence of stone buildingsin other parts of Siena. However, the excavation at the hospital offers

Fig. 4 Reconstruction of the village of Montarrenti later seventh–early eighthcentury (made by Studio Ink Link, Florence)


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a rather desolate picture of settlement. In fact, the results speak of a city, or part of a city, of rather rural character, whose landscape con-sisted of large dark earth layers, ruins and wooden hovels, which –

perhaps – were defended by a poorly built wall. If this reconstructionwere extended to the entire city we could conclude that the woodenvillage of Montarrenti was better organized and structured, at leastbetween the second half of the seventh and the eighth century.

The results of the comparison change if we consider the sample of pottery in use in the period of time we are investigating. In Montar-renti, the items are undecorated ones only, fine or coarse ware; whilein the city findings include tableware decorated with red drops. Thecomparison between the two contexts of settlement favours the city,

even though we need consider that the number and functions of ceramics might have varied. These differences can be explained mainly in two ways: first, the demand for sophisticated tableware in the ruralvillage may have been less than in the city; or second, the artefactson offer to the inhabitants of the countryside might have been lesssophisticated than those available to urban dwellers. Presumably, thenumber of workshops selling their products on the city market waslarger than the number exploiting the countryside. Certainly, in the city

we see a greater number of fabrics: for example, for the fine undeco-rated ware the proportion is 8 to 5, and for the coarse ware ones it is14 to 6. Moreover, some of these ateliers must have been within the city itself, as the evidence of burned out and gressificato ceramic fragmentsfound in the excavations proves.

A certain difference between Siena and Montarrenti is also evident if we consider the quality of ceramics the two centres used. As for theundecorated items of refined clay, the proportion of poorly baked mate-rial – or of material that was produced with not perfectly purified clay

and thus characterized by a grey interior – amounts to 8.9% in the city,while it reaches 62.9% in Montarrenti. This means that Siena’s undeco-rated fine ware was of a better-quality range than that of Montarrenti.Nevertheless, the supply sources were similar for both localities: theitems were probably local or regional.29 The very small amount of hand-made kitchen ware attested in the city (4.6%) probably has the samecontext of origin. The items are casseroles, lids, and also testi , whose pre-sence may be linked to domestic production of ceramics within the city,or could suggest an urban trade of products deriving from the countryside.

A change occurs between the second half of the eighth and ninthcentury, when settlement in both localities is characterized by the

29 The ongoing archaeometric analysis of the mixtures will provide more evidence for thisstatement.


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existence of buildings in stone and wood. In Montarrenti, which wasnow acquiring the character of the centre of a curtis , the use of mortaris first introduced for the erection of a defence wall surrounding the topof the hill where a large warehouse was built (Fig. 5). In the ninthcentury, in Siena we witness a return to the use of stone, bricks and of

lime binder. These new buildings existed alongside huts built withperishable materials. As for the forms and functions of pottery, Montarrenti now wit-

nesses a period of increase in variety and this probably reflects theincreased social and economic complexity of the new curtis centre. Thetable- and kitchenware include basins, small pitchers, large jugs andbottles, while kitchen utensils include jars, casseroles, lids and basins. A similar array of colourless wares started to appear in the city; for example,basins with lids, saucepans, testi and kitchen jars and glasses, as well as jugs, small pitchers, and funnels for refectory and cupboard use.

In this period, the array of fabrics that the two localities exploited inthe production of ceramics is very similar; in fact, in Siena we know of six fine fabrics and eight coarse ones, while Montarrenti had six typesavailable for both categories. What is more, between the second half of

Fig. 5 Reconstruction of the village of Montarrenti, second half of the eighth–ninth century (Studio Ink Link, Florence)


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the eighth and the ninth century, it is possible to find identical ceramicforms in the two localities. This is the case for some testi with splayedsides and pointed rims, some jars with extroverted flat rims, large trilo-

bated jugs, and in particular some basins with introverted rims. Thesemay have been products to be sold both on the urban and rural mar-kets, or items people from the countryside would buy in the city. Afterall, from the end of the ninth century written sources, too, more fre-quently start to attest the presence of regular urban markets in Italy,alongside the annual city fairs. When the latter were not held, the marketwould become the main local place of trade. 30 Nonetheless, the urbanceramic ware is richer than Montarrenti’s. Siena also has some glazedware with decorations of applied petals, which were layered on vertical

lines, or jugs decorated with red drops. Apparently, the ceramic pro-duction techniques do not change significantly. In Montarrenti mostitems were made by using the fast potter’s wheel, while in Siena a smallpercentage of coarse ceramic vases were handmade (3.8%) or producedwith the slow wheel (6.6%). In the two locations, the difference in theappearance of the grey interior of ceramics is still relevant; found in22.03% of the products in Siena, while in Montarrenti it reaches 73%.Such evidence shows how different the quality of handmade materials

was in urban and rural contexts.Further changes in the types of settlement and in the material culturethat characterizes the two sites is to be found between the tenth andeleventh century. This is the period to which we can date Montarrenti’sfirst evolution towards incastellamento . The surrounding walls wererebuilt in the upper part of the village enclosing large rectangular woodencabins with earth floors and internal fireplaces. On the slopes bothwooden cabins and buildings with stone bases and wooden storeys werebuilt (Fig. 6). Similarly in Siena, between the tenth and twelfth cen-

tury, the first rectangular wooden cabins are attested alongside a large,roughly squared building made of square blocks of lime and sandstone,whose interpretation is rather difficult.

The sample of ceramic forms in the two localities is increasingly similar and is now characterized by a decrease in the variety of formsand in quantity. In Montarrenti the items for refectory and cupboardinclude jugs, pitchers, and small jugs, while kitchen equipment now includes testi , which even now were handmade, casseroles and jars. InSiena, among the few forms that were made with fine fabrics, we couldfind jugs, bowls and basins; and among the ones made with coarse

30 R. Bordone 1991, La città nel X secolo , in Il secolo di ferro: mito e realtà del secolo X , Atti della XXXVIII Settimana di studio del Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo (Spoleto, 19–25aprile 1990), I, pp. 517–59, and particularly p. 532.


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fabrics, jars and testi . As for the ceramic types, the number increased inthe city (thirteen of coarse and eight of fine ware), while in Montarrentithis is limited to three different types for each class, thus confirming a caesura in the economy of the rural village, where now the first locally handmade kitchen wares start to appear.

In both localities the percentage of fine pottery with a grey interiordecreases. In Siena it amounts to nearly 58%, while in Montarrenti itfalls as low as 37%. This indicates an improvement of the pottery production techniques, which will become a typical feature of thetwelfth century. There continues to be a difference in quality betweenthe items produced in the city and those produced in the countryside– where, for example, we even find scraps of production that hadbeen burnt.

All in all, this comparison demonstrates a significant difference betweenthe urban and rural sites; a difference that is present in relation to thetypes of ceramic ware rather than the forms of settlement. The latterwere characterized by wooden buildings or buildings erected with mixedtechniques, at least until the ninth century, when the first stone examplesstart to appear in the city. From the second half of the eighth up to the

Fig. 6 Reconstruction of the village of Montarrenti, tenth–eleventh century(Studio Ink Link, Florence)


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ninth century, however, mortar and stone were used in the countrysidefor the construction of defensive walls. The pottery offers a differentpicture: until the tenth to eleventh centuries, Siena shows a richer array

of types and forms than Monatrrenti, which points to a significantly different economic role of the city as opposed to that of the village.

Conclusions

When compared to the data emerging from the excavations in ruralsites such as Montarrenti, the archaeological investigation at the Santa Maria hospital provides us with evidence that offers useful informationfor understanding the transformations that the Roman colony Saena

Julia underwent between the fifth and the eleventh centuries. 31 How-ever, it is still difficult to provide a satisfactory reconstruction of theearly medieval city. This is owing to the fact that significant excavationshave been carried out only on a very small area between the hospital of Santa Maria and the cathedral. Moreover, we know very little of thefeatures and the dimensions of the Roman settlement. The informationon the city and its inhabitants in the Roman imperial age is vague, andrestricted almost entirely to traces in the written sources and in a few

epigraphic texts.32

A comparison between what we know of theseRoman features and the early medieval situation would, to say the least,be useful.

Ceramic findings and fragments of ancient buildings, which areoften difficult to interpret, indicate only in a very inconclusive way thatthe residential area was concentrated between Castelvecchio 33 and the

31 For more information on Roman Siena, see M. Cristofani (ed.), Siena, le Origini. Testimoni- anze e miti archeologici , Catalogo della Mostra (Florence, 1979), pp. 93–6.

32 See, for example, Tacitus, Historiae IV.45; Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum III, 5538; VI,

2379a; XIV, 172; VII, 1345; XI, 1803, 1805, 1806; XI, a1807–1815; add. 7082–83; VI, 1793.33 Cristofani (ed.), Siena , pp. 99, 193 D.C F. Carpellini, ‘Intorno alle origini della città di Siena’,Bullettino della Società Senese di Storia Patria , I (1865–7), pp. 117–36, and in particular p. 130for Costa Larga and Via Tommaso Pendola. V. Lusini, ‘Note storiche sulla topografia diSiena nel secolo XIII’, Bullettino Senese di Storia Patria 28 (1921), pp. 239–341, and in particu-lar p. 244, note 2e. E. Papi, Siena: anfore romane da Castelvecchio, in Amphores romaines et histoire économique: dix aus de recherche , Atti del Colloquio di Siena (22–24 maggio 1986),Collection de l’École Française de Rome (Rome, 1989), pp. 618–19, for Via Tito Sarrocchiand Via di Stalloreggi. Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 193, n. 21 for Via di San Quirico; ibid.,p. 193, n. 17 for Via San Pietro. The settlement during the Roman age seems to have extendedto the west of Castelvecchio: ibid., p. 193, n. 22 for Via Paolo Mascagni and Via delle Scuole,now renamed as Via Ettore Bastianini. Ibid., p. 194, n. 24 for Poggio Cardinale, near theLaterino. For the Palazzo dell’Arcivescovado ibid., p. 192, n. 13. R. Betti, ‘Le monete del pozzodi San Marco’, in L. Betti (ed.), La chiesa dei santi Pietro e Paolo ed il Museo della contrada della Chiocciola (Siena, 1994), pp. 135–7, for Via San Marco and coins. Finally, for the morerecent discoveries (Vicolo del Contino and Via Stalloreggi), S. Pallecchi, ‘Archeologia urbana a Siena. Per un’indagine preventiva mirata alla individuazione delle aree di maggior rischioarcheologico’, Doctoral dissertation in Medieval Archaeology (University of Siena, 2001–3),pp. 328–32.


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cathedral of Santa Maria,34 though traces of settlement can be foundalso in other more distant areas.35 The findings of tombs and funerary inscriptions suggest the existence of cemeteries in Campansi, in Via

Ricasoli,36

in Via Don Minzoni37

and in Via Vito Sarocchi,38

in Via SanPietro39 and, from late antiquity on, also in Castelvecchio,40 in the area of the cathedral41 and in Scacciapensieri.42

At the moment it is also rather difficult to define the real extentof the Roman city, of whose walls we still know very little, althoughin 2001 the Department of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Siena carried out some excavations under the cathedral. On thisoccasion, the remains of a large stone structure and a small well werediscovered. They were interpreted as having been linked to the pro-

pitiatory rites held in connection with the foundation of the walls or of the city gates.43

Notwithstanding the limited number of records, different recon-structions of the ancient city’s topography have been attempted from

34 D. De Luca, ‘La lettura stratigrafica’, in Boldrini and Parenti (eds), Santa Maria , pp. 179–87,and Milanese, ‘I reperti’ in ibid., pp. 364–5 for the area in front of the hospital. Cristofani(ed.), Siena , pp. 113–14 and M.A. Causarano, R. Francovich and M. Valenti, ‘L’intervento

archeologico sotto il duomo di Siena: dati e ipotesi preliminari’, in P. Guerrini (ed.), Sotto il Duomo di Siena. Scoperte archeologiche, architettoniche e figurative , (Siena, 2003), pp. 153–67,and in particular pp. 155–9 for the cathedral area. Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 192, n. 15 for Via del Capitano; ibid., p. 192, n. 14 for Via di Vallepiatta; ibid., p. 193, n. 16 for Costa Larga.Lusini, ‘Note storiche’, p. 249, n. 1, for Costaccia. R. Parenti, ‘La lettura stratigrafica dellemurature in contestiarcheologici di restauro architettonico’, Resauro e città (1985), I, n. 2,pp. 55–68, and in particular p. 57, for Via di Stalloreggi. A. Leoncini, Siena in fasce: topografia e immagini della Sena Vetus, Monteriggioni (Siena, 1998), p. 20, n. 30, and D. Barbagli,‘Relazione preliminare sull’intervento compiuto nei fondi di proprietà dell’Accademia deiRozzi’, Accademia dei Rozzi (2003), anno X, n. 18, pp. 37–42, for Via di Città. And finally for the most recent discoveries (in Via del Fosso di Sant’Ansano, Via Franciosa, and for Piazza Jacopo della Quercia), Pallecchi, ‘Archeologia’, pp. 318–28.

35 Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 194, n. 27 for the area of the hospital Achille Sclavo, outside Porta Tufi; ibid ., p. 194, n. 29e, p. 196, n. 30 for Via del Porrione and Via di Rialto, in the quarterof S. Martino; ibid., p. 196, n. 31 for Porta Romana; ibid., p. 191, n. 4 for the area surrounding Poggio dei Malvolti, Via del Cavallerizzo; ibid., p. 190, n. 3 for Via Pianigiani; ibid., p. 190,n. 2, for Piazzetta Pianigiani; ibid., p. 192, n. 11 for the locality of Palazzo dei Diavoli, in thequarter of Camollia, north-west of Siena. Finally for the most recent discoveries (Via del Cavallerizzo, Via Banchi di Sotto, Via Simone Martini) Pallecchi, ‘Archeologia’,pp. 332–8.

36 Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 191, n. 7.37 Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 191, n. 8.38 Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 193, n. 18.39 Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 193, n. 17.40 Pallecchi, ‘Archeologia’, pp. 340–4: this concerns the tombs a cappuccina near the convent of

Santa Margherita in Via Tommaso Pendola (Carpellini, ‘Intorno’, pp. 132–3), the necropolisin Via Tito Sarrocchi (Cristofani (ed.), Siena , p. 193, n. 18) and the Latin funerary inscriptionin Via San Pietro (ibid., p. 193, n. 17).

41 Causarano, Francovich and Valenti, ‘L’intervento archeologico’, p. 158.42 Pallecchi, ‘Archeologia’, p. 361.43 Causarano, Francovich and Valenti, ‘L’intervento archeologico’, pp. 158–9.


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the fifteenth century onwards.44 These hypotheses can be divided intotwo groups: one suggests that the colony of Saena Iulia covered a ratherlarge part of the future medieval city, reaching beyond the cathedral hill

and beyond Castelvecchio, as far as Via Montanini in the north, andon the eastern side as far as Vicolo di Vannello, while Piazza del Campowould have been the central area with the forum. 45 The other hypo-thesis suggests that the area of the city was limited to the hills of thecathedral and of Castelvecchio.46 The studies conducted recently by Brogini,47 Leoncini48 and Pallecchi support this last idea. Pallechi’s work in particular is not only based on the study of edited sources, but alsoon archaeological investigations that took place between 2000 and2002. These works included monitoring of the excavations and of the

drainage trenches that had been made in the city centre, as well as theexploration and mapping of the many artificial subterranean structuresand, finally, the interpretation of most of the soil core samplings madein the area of Santa Maria della Scala.49

While the material record does not provide significant help for theinterpretation of the city in the classical age, as far as the beginning of the early Middle Ages is concerned, the information from the archaeo-logical investigations starts to become more valuable. From the sixth

century on a crisis took place in certain areas of the city, where large44 On Roman Siena, F. Patrizi, De origine et antiquitate urbis Senae (Siena, c .1460); B. Benvo-

glienti, De urbis Senae origine et incremento (Siena, 1509), later translated into the vernacular in1571; S. Tizio, Historiae Senenses (Siena, 1506–28), now edited by M. Doni Garfagnini, vol. 1,tome 1, part 1 (1998), G. Tommasi Stussi, vol. 2, tome 2, part 2 (1995), and P. Petracci,vol. 3, tome 4 (1998); T. Gallacini, Informazioni dell’antichità di Siena di Teofilo Gallacini dottore di Medicina e pubblico lettore di Mattematica nello Studio di Siena , Siena, Archivio diStato di Siena, MS D 8 (1564–1647); O. Malavolti, Historia de’ fatti e guerre de’ Senesi (Venice,1599); G. Tommasi, Dell’historie di Siena (Venice, 1625); G. Piccolomini, Siena illustre per antichità, celebrata dal sig. Giulio Piccolomini pub. Lettor di Tosca favella nel generale studio senese (Siena, 1638); A. Pecci, Ristretto delle cose più notabili della città di Siena (Siena, 1761);

G. Macchi, Memorie , Siena, Archivio di Stato di Siena, MSS D 107, D 109, D 111 (end of seventeenth/beginning of eighteenth century); E. Repetti, Dizionario geografico, fisico e storico della Toscana (Florence, 1843); G. Gigli, Diario Senese , reprinted in facsimile (Siena, 1854);V. Buonsignori, Storia della Repubblica di Siena (Siena, 1856); Carpellini, ‘Intorno’; P. Rossi,‘Le origini di Siena: Siena colonia romana’, in Conferenze tenute nella R. Accademia dei Rozzi per cura della Commissione Senese di Storia Patria, 3 aprile 1897 (Siena, 1897), vol. III,pp. 5–73; F. Barbagli Petrucci, ‘Notizie di un arco romano in Siena del sec. I di G.C.’,Rassegna d’Arte Senese (1906), pp. 3–5; Lusini, ‘Note storiche’.

45 Gallacini, ‘Informazioni’; Lusini, ‘Note storiche’, pp. 244 ff.; Rossi, ‘Le origini’, pp. 41–9.46 Benvoglienti, De urbis ; Malavolti, Historia , Book II, p. 12, who also refers to an enlargement

of the colonial walls up to a fourth circle dating to the age of Theoderic, Malavolti,pp. 15–16; Tommasi, Dell’historie , pp. 60–1. On the same subject see P. Nardi, ‘I borghi diSan Donato e di San Pietro a Ovile. “Populi”, contrade e compagnie d’armi nella società senese dei secoli XI–XIII’, Bollettino della società senese di storia patria 73–5, 1966–8 (1972),pp. 7–59, and in particular p. 10, n. 11.

47 P. Brogini, ‘L’individuazione della Siena romana ed altomedievale: alcune considerazioni enuove ipotesi’, Accademia dei Rozzi , anno X, n. 18, pp. 6–14, and particularly pp. 13–14.

48 Leoncini, Siena in fasce , p. 15.49 Pallecchi, ‘Archeologia’.


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layers of rubble and dark earth started to form that coincide with heavy spoliation of the Roman imperial and late antique buildings. Not eventhe presence of the Lombard gastald Wilerat 50 a century later could

stop this deterioration. The depression probably concerned only someareas, while others continued to thrive, as the fine ceramic ware in usein the city, the circulation of fourth-century coins, and the continuing trade links with North Africa and the east up to the seventh century allsuggest.

Still, the decay of certain urban areas reached such an extent that,between the sixth and seventh century, burials took place inside theruins of classical buildings. Apparently, the differentiation between thecity of the living and that of the dead began to blur. Among the tombs

in the area of the cathedral51 and in the cemetery of Santa Maria a number of huts appeared, featuring walls made of earth and wicker-work, as well as houses with stone bases and walls made of earth, orpartly underground. It would be interesting to know if this new land-scape characterized only the areas that had become marginal or theentire area of settlement. Unfortunately, the current situation does notallow us to answer such questions, which would only be possible aftera new focused stratigraphic analysis of the entire area of settlement.

As for the settlement, the picture of the eighth century that emergesfrom the excavations is not very different from the two previouscenturies and it is very similar to that of rural sites. The informationwe have for Siena is limited to the data the hospital excavation broughtto light, while written records do not add much more beyond telling us about the presence of the bishop in Siena. 52 Yet, a muro civitatis (city wall)53 is mentioned in 730, which according to Cammarosano sur-rounded the hill on which the first cathedral and the first fortifiedurban nucleus were built. From the eleventh century, this first centre

was referred to as ‘Castelvecchio’ and housed the churches of S. Pietroand S. Quirico54. A rather surprising fact is the chronological coincidence between the

attestation of the city wall and the erection of the second wall bound withearth that crossed the excavated areas under the hospital. In this period

50 F. Scorza Ba ércellona, ‘Un martire locale: Ansano’, Bullettino della Società Senese di Storia Patria 97 (1990), pp. 10–33, and in particular p. 15.

51 Causarano, Francovich and Valenti, ‘L’intervento archeologico’, p. 155.52 Scorza Ba ércellona, ‘Un martire’, pp. 15–16; F. Schneider (ed.), Regestum Senense. Regesten der

Urkunden von Siena, I. bis zum Frieden von Poggibonsi. 713–30 Juni 1235 (Rome, 1911),pp. LXXIV–LXXXV.

53 L. Schiapparelli (ed.), Codice Diplomatico Longobardo , Istituto Storico Italiano, I (Rome,1929), n. 50, 730 Dic. 1, pp. 163–71, p. 168.

54 P. Cammarosano and V. Passeri, Città, borghi e castelli dell’area senese-grossetana. Repertorio delle strutture fortificate dal Medioevo alla caduta della Repubblica senese (Siena, 1984), p. 383.


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the material culture of the citizens also started to change. The fine wareof Roman imperial tradition disappeared and they started to use locally or regionally produced items only, whose quality and variety is however

better than that of products that circulated in the countryside. A new urban vitality starts to become evident during the ninth cen-tury, which coincides with the attestation in charters of the Frankishduke Alderat and of that of a domui Senate ecclesie ,55 and later of theduke Winigis.56 From an archaeological viewpoint, it is only now – afterthree centuries – that we can find the remains of buildings made of stone that were bound with good-quality lime. Even now, the landscapewas still dominated by wooden buildings, which also continued to be a typical feature in the tenth century – however, from at least AD 913

the cathedral, the sedes Beate Mariae , started to emerge next to thedomum Episcopio Senense , where Bishop Teoderich resided.57

Up until the eleventh century, written records only rarely contributeto the definition of Siena’s urban landscape. It is from the eleventhcentury on that they start to provide information about the urbannucleus. A number of burgi are attested on the hillside from Camollia to S. Martino, along the Via Francigena, in close proximity to hospicesand religious centres.58 The one in Camollia, which can be dated to

1028,59

was fortified at least from 1082, when we can find a mention of its gates.60 Furthermore, the written sources now for the first time recordmany of the churches, both within and outside the city, as for example,S. Basilio (1028),61 S. Vincenzo e Nicola (1087),62 S. Antonino (1073),63

55 U. Pasqui (ed.), Documenti per la storia della città di Arezzo nel Medioevo , Vol. 1, Documentidi storia italiana 11 (Florence, 1899), n. 27, 14 October 833, p. 37.

56 E. Casanova (ed.), Il Cartulario della Berardenga (Siena, 1914), n. 53, February 867, pp. 88–93and n. 4, 881, pp. 13–17; P. Cammarosano, ‘La nobiltà Senese dal secolo VIII agli inizi del

secolo XII’, Bullettino della Società Senese di Storia Patria 86 (1979), pp. 7–48 and inparticular p. 14; F. Schneider, Regestum , p. 3, n. 6, February 867 and 7 April 881.

57 Il Caleffo Vecchio del Comune di Siena , 5 vols, ed. G. Cecchini (vols 1–3) and M. Ascheri(vols 4–5) (Siena, 1931–91), I, n. 35, May 913, pp. 49–51. In the course of the tenth century,according to A. Brogi, ‘Tempo e immagine del Duomo di Siena’, Quaderni dell’Opus 2 (1998), pp. 44–67, and in particular pp. 50–1, the area of the cathedral hosted a small,palace-like structure exploiting the structures of an ancient Roman castrum .

58 D. Balestracci and G. Piccinni, Siena nel Trecento (Florence, 1977), p. 21.59 L. Mosiici (ed.), Le carte del Monastero di S. Miniato al Monte (secoli IX–XII) , Deputazione

di Storia Patria per la Toscana, Documenti di Storia Italiana, ser. II, vol. 4 (Florence, 1990),n. 9, July 1028, pp. 91–8, p. 96.

60 Cammarosano and Passeri, Città, borghi , p. 383.61 Mosiici (ed.), Le carte , n. 9, July 1028, pp. 91–8, p. 96.62 G. Prunai, ‘I Regesti delle pergamene senesi del fondo diplomatico di S. Michele in Passig-

nano’, Bullettino Senese di Storia Patria 84–5 (1977–8), III, pp. 223–66, and in particularn. 89, March 1087, pp. 235–6.

63 G. Prunai, ‘I Regesti delle pergamene senesi del fondo diplomatico di S. Michele in Passig-nano’, Bullettino Senese di Storia Patria 82–3 (1975–6), II, pp. 321–59, and in particularnn. 48–9, 2 May 1073, pp. 339–40.


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S. Agata (1043),64 S. Donato (1012),65 S. Dalmazio (1086),66 S. Michele(1084),67 S. Martino (1081),68 S. Giorgio (1081),69 S. Pietro in Camollia,70

S. Andrea (1093),71 S. Lorenzo (1081),72 S. Pietro de comitatibus (1010),73

San Desiderio74

and S. Pietro in Castelvecchio (1012),75

Santa Eugenia (1052), outside Porta San Viene or the Porta dei Pispini, 76 San Pelle-grino (1070),77 S. Antonio (1093),78 S. Cristoforo (1088),79S. Paolo in burgo de Sena (1081, which Liberati identified as the borgo di S. Marco ,at that time located outside the walls),80 S. Paolo in Campo fori (1081),81

and San Prospero (1012).82 Other sources refer to the hospices. One of these, called San Basilio, must have been located in Camollia (1070),while between 1086–90 others were built both within the immediatesuburbium and on the hill of San Donato, on which in 1109 the mon-

astery of San Michele83 was founded. We also have written evidence for the buildings on the hill where the

cathedral now stands. In 1000 a ‘canonica sancte Marie domus episco-pio Senense’ is mentioned, and in 1012 this domus Episcopio had becomea castle; in fact, the sources record a ‘terra et casa quidem est cellaria in

64 G. Prunai, ‘I Regesti delle pergamene senesi del fondo diplomatico di S. Michele in Passig-

nano’, Bullettino Senese di Storia Patria 73–5 (1966–8), I, pp. 200–36, and in particularn. 12, October 1043, pp. 223–4.

65 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, I, n. 8, December 1012, pp. 220–1.66 Siena, Archivio di Stato di Siena, Diplomatico, Legato del conte Scipione Bichi Borghesi,

12 March 1086.67 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, II, n. 68, January 1084, pp. 351–2.68 A. Ghignoli (ed.), Carte dell’Archivio di Stato di Siena. Opera Metropolitana (1000–1200)

(Siena, 1994), n. 22, 4 November 1081, pp. 60–4.69 Ghignoli, Carte , n. 22, 4 November 1081, pp. 60–4.70 Mosiici (ed.), Le carte , n. 9, July 1028, pp. 91–8, p. 96.71 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, pp. 223–66, and in particular n. 126, January 1093, p. 257.72 Ghignoli, Carte , n. 22, 4 November 1081, pp. 60–4.73 Cammarosano, La nobiltà , p. 30.74 A. Liberati, ‘Chiese, monasteri e ospedali senesi, Ricordi e notizie’, Bullettino Senese di Storia

Patria 46 (1939), pp. 157–67, 261–8, 342–6, and in particular p. 264.75 A. Liberati, ‘Chiese, monasteri e ospedali senesi, Ricordi e notizie’, Bullettino Senese di Storia

Patria 48 (1941), pp. 66–80, 173–80, 247–55, 296–311, and in particular p. 67.76 A. Liberati, ‘Chiese, monasteri e ospedali senesi, Ricordi e notizie’, Bullettino Senese di Storia

Patria 62–3 (1955–6), pp. 224–64, and in particular p. 263.77 Liberati, ‘Chiese, monasteri’, Bullettino Senese di Storia Patria 48, p. 307.78 A. Liberati, ‘Chiese, monasteri e ospedali senesi, Ricordi e notizie’, Bullettino Senese di Storia

Patria 67 (1960), pp. 157–74, and in particular p. 168.79 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, pp. 223–66, n. 95, 23 February 1088, p. 239.80 A. Liberati, ‘Chiese, monasteri e ospedali senesi, Ricordi e notizie’, Bullettino Senese di Storia

Patria 47 (1940), pp. 64–72, 159–66, 243–58, 332–8, and in particular p. 244.81 Liberati, ‘Chiese, monasteri’, Bullettino Senese di Storia Patria 48, p. 304.82 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, I, n. 7, July 1010, pp. 219–20; P. Brogini 1997, ‘L’assetto topografico

del “burgus de Camullia” nell’altomedioevo (secoli X–XII) e il suo apparato difensivo(secoli XI–XIV)’, Bullettino senese di storia patria 102 (1995), pp. 9–62, and in particularpp. 47–8.

83 Cammarosano and Passeri, Città, borghi , p. 383; Nardi, I borghi , pp. 17 ff.


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loco Ripa, suptus castello domui episcopio senense, 84 non longe da ecclesia et curte Sancti Petri sito civitate Siena’.85 From 1028, the parishchurch of San Giovanni was added to the ecclesiastical complex up

the hill, which must have been situated ‘in the area in front of themodern cathedral’.86 At the end of the century, the ecclesiastical districtcentred around the cathedral was surrounded by a wall, which waslinked to Castelvecchio, as the area of Vallepiatta was now defined as‘in civitate Sene’.87

Eleventh-century documents also provide important informationabout the types of buildings that characterized Siena’s urban landscape.The most densely inhabitated area was still Castelvecchio, while that of Santa Maria mostly featured, perhaps right from the end of the tenth

century, modest taberne or taverns88 (which had been made by excavat-ing the geological strata) alongside cascine , tumbe ,89 cellae and cellaria .90

Such buildings must have been used as storage rooms, as a 1087 docu-ment refers to a ‘cellario di Baroncello di Vallombrosani’, situated inCastello Vetero, which contained vases (vasculis ), small barrels or smallbaskets (butites ), and archas , that is food containers, especially to storecereals (arche granarie ).91 Wooden structures also must have existed,which were called lignamen , though they are attested in only one single

document dating to 1076.92

The most important families lived in thecivitas , especially in Castelvecchio93 and on the hill of Santa Maria.94 Atthe end of the century, the ‘burgo de civitate Sena’ starts to be men-tioned.95 This term indicated an extension of the city, from the church

84 Ghignoli (ed.), Carte , n. 1, 7 April 1000; ‘a house and plot for storage in the place called Ripa,under the castle of the bishop’s palace of Siena, not far from the church and property of St Peter’s, situated in the town of Siena’, A. Giorgi and S. Moscadelli, ‘L’Opera di S. Maria di Siena tra XII e XIII secolo’, in A. Mirizio and P. Nardi (eds), Chiese e vita religiosa a Siena.

Dalle origini al grande giubileo , Atti del Convegno di Studi (Siena 25–27 ottobre 2000) (Siena,2002), pp. 77–100, and in particular p. 78.

85 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, I, n. 8, December 1012, pp. 220–1.86 Giorgi and Moscadelli, ‘L’Opera’, p. 79.87 Florence, Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Abbazia di S. Michele in Passignano, June 1105.88 Mosiici (ed.), Le carte , n. 9, July 1028, pp. 91–8; Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, n. 16, May 1048, p. 226.89 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, II, n. 78, 16 November 1084, pp. 357–8.90 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, II, n. 54, August 1075, pp. 342–3; G. Prunai, ‘I Regesti delle pergamene

senesi del fondo diplomatico di S. Michele in Passignano’, Bullettino Senese di Storia Patria 96 (IV) (1989), pp. 319–49, and in particular, n. 163, 8 August 1098, p. 341; Prunai, ‘I Regesti’,I, n. 8, December 1012, pp. 220–1; Siena, Archivio di Stato di Siena, Diplomatico, Spedaledi Santa Maria della Scala, 16 December 1195.

91 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, n. 89, March 1087, pp. 235–6.92 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, II, n. 57, November 1076, pp. 344–5.93 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, n. 89, March 1087, pp. 235–6; Florence, Archivio di Stato di Firenze,

Abbazia di S. Michele in Passignano, June 1120.94 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, II, n. 57, November 1076, pp. 344–5; Pecci, Ristretto delle cose , pp. XXXIV ff.95 Ghignoli (ed.), Carte , n. 25, 1080, March (25–31)?, 1081, March (1–24)?, 1085, March?,

pp. 74–9.


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of San Paolo as far as Camollia.96 In the meantime, other residential areashad developed around the suburban churches along the Via Francigena:Camollia,97 the area ‘in burgo et prope burgum ad Ovile’,98 and San

Donato.99

Subsequently, the area of S. Cristoforo emerged near SanDonato. Kitchen gardens were also common in eleventh-century Siena,which are attested in documents dating to 1012, 1052, 1085 and 1088. 100

At the dawn of the eleventh century, the city was still made of wood,stone and underground structures, and was concentrated around thehill of Santa Maria, where the bishop resided, while the importantfamilies lived in Castelvecchio. Yet, at this time Siena started to reachbeyond these two residential nuclei, thus laying the groundwork for theurban and economic development that would determine its prime role

in the events of late medieval Tuscany.

University of Siena

96 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, n. 89, March 1087, pp. 235–6.97 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, n. 142, December 1094, p. 266.98 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, n. 131, April 1093, p. 260.99 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, III, n. 121, 12 February 1092, p. 254.100 Prunai, ‘I Regesti’, I, n. 8, December 1012, pp. 220–1 and n. 18, May 1052, p. 227; Prunai, ‘I

Regesti’, III, n. 84, July 1085, p. 232 and n. 95, 23 February 1088, p. 239.

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