The Disabitato: Farms, Families, and Open Space
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Description
Throughout much of the medieval period, Rome’s population was a fraction of the one million residents it had at its peak in Classical Antiquity. With much of the medieval population clustered near the banks of the Tiber River, there lay a vast expanse of predominantly uninhabited land between the medieval city and the 19 km circumference of the Aurelian walls left from the 3rd century.
Set among the ruins of ancient Rome, this landscape evolved throughout the Middle Ages. Before the 12th century, parts of the disabitato had a bad reputation. Home to swamps and breeding grounds for mosquitos, the lower-lying areas of the disabitato were known to be sources of disease. This, combined with tales of robbers and other perils, led to a reputation that the disabitato was a dangerous area.
However, starting in the 12th century, agriculture became more common in the disabitato. Vineyards and farm fields graced the slopes of the hills, as well as the valleys between. Farm animals grazed among the ruins of once-grand Roman buildings. Powerful families, such as the Frangipani, the Savelli, and the Pierloni controlled much of this agricultural land. Throughout the 12th-13th century and beyond, this family power was constantly shifting. Families built vast fortified complexes complete with towers and imposing walls in order to keep their holdings their own, and lands inevitably traded from hand to hand. While agriculture and family power flourished, however, the area remained, true to its name, largely uninhabited. While within the city walls, the disabitato had more in common with the countryside than with the city itself.
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Description
Throughout much of the medieval period, Rome’s population was a fraction of the one million residents it had at its peak in Classical Antiquity. With much of the medieval population clustered near the banks of the Tiber River, there lay a vast expanse of predominantly uninhabited land between the medieval city and the 19 km circumference of the Aurelian walls left from the 3rd century.
Set among the ruins of ancient Rome, this landscape evolved throughout the Middle Ages. Before the 12th century, parts of the disabitato had a bad reputation. Home to swamps and breeding grounds for mosquitos, the lower-lying areas of the disabitato were known to be sources of disease. This, combined with tales of robbers and other perils, led to a reputation that the disabitato was a dangerous area.
However, starting in the 12th century, agriculture became more common in the disabitato. Vineyards and farm fields graced the slopes of the hills, as well as the valleys between. Farm animals grazed among the ruins of once-grand Roman buildings. Powerful families, such as the Frangipani, the Savelli, and the Pierloni controlled much of this agricultural land. Throughout the 12th-13th century and beyond, this family power was constantly shifting. Families built vast fortified complexes complete with towers and imposing walls in order to keep their holdings their own, and lands inevitably traded from hand to hand. While agriculture and family power flourished, however, the area remained, true to its name, largely uninhabited. While within the city walls, the disabitato had more in common with the countryside than with the city itself.