By Regnum_Neapolitanum
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For this period, we have access to a more voluminous quantity of documents, primarily from the aforementioned Cancelleria Angioina, from the episcopal archives, and (particularly for the Phlegraean Area) from various documents from the Benedictine Monastery of Montevergine. Unlike those from the ducal period, the documents from this era also provide us with significantly more useful sources for understanding the dwellings of urban areas.
The information we can glean from some sales documents from 14th-century Pozzuoli are quite intriguing. We know, for example, that houses in Angevin-era Pozzuoli could have had an oven (domus cum furno). This oven, logically, had to have its own chimney. From a document dated June 1339, we know, for example, that an agreement was reached between two residents of Pozzuoli. The first had an oven built against the wall of the second's house. The latter gave his consent to the construction, provided that the chimney was high enough to prevent smoke from entering his home. [33]
The houses could also be equipped with a cellar, perhaps used to store wine (cellarium, cellario parvo), or even a cistern for water (piscinalem, domus cum pissina), often built into the very foundations of the house.
Among the various expressions I came across, however, I found one that particularly struck me: astracum ad sole. This term is clearly the "medieval Latin ancestor" of a term still used today in Naples and surrounding areas to refer to the terrace of a building: astreco. More precisely, this expression comes from the ancient Greek ὄστρακον, ostrakon, meaning "potsherd,” "terracotta,” and is clearly a reference to the fact that these terraces were covered with tiles made of this material. The fact that these terraces are described in documents as ad sole (that is, "in the sun,” "exposed to the sun") suggests that they were used by the inhabitants of these houses primarily as a place to hang out freshly washed laundry to dry (as is often done even today).
An important point concerns the fact that even city houses could very often be equipped with a garden (viridarium), or a cultivated vegetable garden (domus cum uno orticello).
This last detail is important: the urban centers of medieval Campania in fact almost always seem to be areas that today we would define as "low population density," with buildings frequently interspersed with gardens, small plots of cultivated land, or even, in some cases, empty land, on which, simply, nothing had yet been built.
This fact is clear from documents since the ducal era, such as when, for example, in May 997, a small vegetable garden is described located within the walls of the citadel of Pozzuoli, near a house (orticello qui antea casa fuit posita), bordered by a stone wall and a public alley. [34] Or, even more accurately, still within the walls of Pozzuoli, in July 1026, an empty plot of land with a cave (terra vacua nostra una cum gripta), bordering the home of a certain Sergio Boffa (et a parte mediana est coniuntum cum domum Sergii Boffa), and a public road (platea publica). [35]
A situation that is often found in documents from the Angevin era, such as in November 1317, when a certain priest Landolfo de Marzano sold Corrado de Costanza a vacant piece of land located outside the walls of the city of Pozzuoli [36] (extra menia seu muros dicte civitatis Putheoli) between the church of Saint Agnes (for the restoration of which the aforementioned Landolfo de Marzano was forced to sell the land) and some houses seu curtem (therefore perhaps they themselves were located around a further courtyard), belonging to the same de Costanza. [37]
Just as the modicae terulae, located in the urban centre of Pozzuoli, owned by the Cathedral of the same city, and ceded on 29 May 1318 to the judge Giacomo de Cioffis in order to build an ecclesia seu cappella dedicated to Saint James, [38] (still existing today, although unfortunately mutilated), [39] must have been empty.
On the contrary, the lands belonging to five houses located just outside the walls of Pozzuoli and equipped with shared vegetable gardens, sold by a certain Maria de Fusca to Raimondo Russo for the sum of 23 ounces of gold in December 1336, had to be cultivated. [40]
Similarly, the bishop's palace (palatium domini episcopi Putheolani) must also have been equipped with a garden. [41]
If we try to imagine the typical urban environment of a small town in this area during the Middle Ages (such as Pozzuoli), we can imagine it as a collection of small "districts" delimited by streets, consisting of a small number of houses, mostly facing the streets and therefore concentrated near the edges of these districts. The central area of these small districts (similar to a sort of courtyard between the various houses) would have housed gardens and small cultivated areas. Along the city streets, on the ground floors of buildings, there were also various workshops and stores, whose entrances were often covered by a shelter (pennata), designed to protect the entrance (and any outdoor stalls) from the elements.
The general skyline of the settlement must have been dominated by public buildings, such as, in the case of Pozzuoli, the aforementioned episcopal palace, the town hall, [42] and the Palatio Comitis, [43] the residence of the Count of Pozzuoli (certainly not a building of excessive proportions, in any case, and - of course - used for other purposes after the dissolution of the county and the creation of the municipality in May 1296). This was in addition, of course, to the various churches located throughout the city, some of which were parish churches, such as the one of Saint Maximus, documented as early as March 1288, [44] or the one of Saint Liborius, documented as early as October 1308. [45] Over these, the Cathedral of Saint Proculus [46] dominated with its tall bell tower, a structure with a history unto itself, and a discussion of which would greatly extend this article.
Also in the case of Pozzuoli, starting in the late 13th century, the rise of a wealthy urban class began to emerge more clearly, which, in some cases, ended up acquiring a status approaching that of the nobility. In these cases, families belonging to this class tended to enlarge their homes, effectively creating small palaces, probably always with a fairly sober overall appearance, but sometimes also featuring portals and windows discreetly decorated in the style of the period, [47] with coats of arms prominently displayed on the walls. [48]
Between the late 13th and early 14th centuries, Pozzuoli also experienced a strong expansion of the aforementioned thermal tourism, which, as mentioned, had never disappeared throughout the Middle Ages and, thanks to the interest of the first three Angevin rulers, would experience a strong revival. The area of Tripergole, a small settlement located about 3 km from Pozzuoli, near Lake Averno, where several thermal facilities were concentrated, was also particularly affected during this period. In this area, in particular, King Charles II of Anjou commissioned the construction, at his own expense, of a very large hospital with 120 beds for the poor who frequented the Pozzuoli baths between 1299 and 1307. [49]
The situation must not have been much different in the urban area of Naples itself, which, in those very years, having become a royal seat under King Charles I of Anjou, was on its way to becoming a major European metropolis. Aside from the obvious differences, due to a much larger population and different concentrations of residents, such as port traffic or the presence of commercial districts with workshops, stores, and markets, which could therefore give rise to neighborhoods with a higher-than-average population density, the Neapolitan urban landscape must have appeared - all things considered - quite similar to that of Pozzuoli.
As in Pozzuoli, Naples must also have had several homes belonging to wealthy urban citizens. Or, there were also homes belonging to families of the chivalric nobility, who, especially following the construction of the Maschio Angioino (originally built by Charles I between 1279 and 1282), wanted to be represented in the new neighborhood that arose around the great castle under construction, having highly respectable mansions built for them. Such as the one belonging to the Provençal Des Baux family, discovered by chance during construction work on the subway line in Piazza Municipio, and recently the subject of a very interesting archaeological excavation.
Furthermore, starting from the Angevin period, the presence of various public utility services in urban areas, such as aqueducts and sewers, is more clearly attested.
The presence of the aqueduct in Naples is documented throughout the Middle Ages. [50] Its general cleaning and restoration was ordered by King Charles I in 1268. From contemporary documents, we also know that the construction of an additional aqueduct was necessary during that period to supply the aforementioned area that was becoming urbanized around the Maschio Angioino.
When in November 1343 the entire Tyrrhenian area was shaken by a powerful earthquake (followed a few minutes later by a tsunami), the then elderly bishop of Pozzuoli, Paolino Veneto, [51] wrote a letter to the Regia Curia, describing the damage suffered by the city of Pozzuoli [52] and requesting that top priority be given to repairing the aqueduct that supplied the settlement, which had been damaged by the seismic event.
We also know more details about the sewers from this period onwards.
For example, through a document dated April 11, 1301, we know that King Charles II issued orders for the construction of new rainwater drainage channels and additional underground sewers for the city of Naples. At the same time, the king strictly prohibited the dumping of any type of garbage in the streets. Similar projects involving drainage channels date back to the time of Charles I, who in the 1270s ordered the construction of a drainage system to reclaim the area east of the walls of Naples, an area often swamped by the frequent flooding of the nearby Sebeto River.
In Naples, as in Pozzuoli, there were also several public baths and spas throughout the city, attested in the city at least since the 8th century, but whose use, exactly as in Pozzuoli, must have been present in the city continuously since ancient times.
During this period, several royal initiatives aimed at improving the city's road network were also known.
In 1279, for example, Charles I ordered the construction of a coastal road connecting the Beverello wharf area to the Chiatamone district, crossing the area of the current Santa Lucia district. His son Charles II, in July 1301, instead ordered the streets of Naples to be repaved with bricks specially produced in the cities of Gaeta and Maddaloni by specially trained workers (pingarii and tegularii). [53] Between 1305 and 1307, he also oversaw the construction of a new coastal road, the latter overlooking the stretch of the old city walls facing the sea, necessary to relieve congestion for goods transiting through the port of Naples during the construction of the new main pier. [54] Also in 1307, he oversaw the "extraurban" roads, commissioning the repair of the roads leading from Naples ad Casalem Planure, ad Sanctum Erasmum, Paturtium et Succavam, which had been dirute et rovinate ex tempestate aquarum. Similar measures would also be taken by his successor, Robert, who on June 15, 1317, ordered the repair of several Naples roads using flint quarried in Pozzuoli, Tripergole, and Quarto Flegreo. On 16 January 1339, however, there was a provision by the king himself, in which he ordered the repair cum zappis et oportunis aliis munimentis of the road that led from the Neapolitan district of Piedigrotta to Tripergole, passing through Pozzuoli.
Notes
[33] M.V. CIII, 16.
[34] R.N.A.M. n. 252.
[35] R.N.A.M. n. 333.
[36] From the early Middle Ages until the second half of the 13th century, the urban area of city of Pozzuoli consisted essentially only of the aforementioned fortified citadel. During the Angevin period, between the late 13th and the first half of the 14th century, the city experienced a period of significant urban and demographic growth, also due to the abolition of the county and the creation of the Civitas Demaniale (May 9, 1296), and thus began to expand beyond the citadel's walls.
[37] M.V. vol. CIII, fol. 5.
[38] Unfortunately, the 1318 document is now lost, and is known only through a transcription made in the 17th century by the historian Camillo Tutini (1600-1670).
[39] The Chapel of Saint James de Cioffis in Pozzuoli was severely vandalized by unknown assailants between late November and early December 1990, when the Gothic portal was smashed with shovels, while the tomb of the founder Giacomo de Cioffis (+ February 2, 1332) was stolen from the inside. The only surviving item is a wooden crucifix with traces of gilding dating back to the late 13th/early 14th century, commonly believed to be a gift from King Charles II of Anjou for the church of Saint Martha of the hospital of Tripergole (founded by him in 1299), and later placed in this chapel after the hospital was destroyed by the eruption of Monte Nuovo in 1538.
[40] M.V. CIII, 10.
[41] A.C.P. cartella A, n.ri 16; A.C.P. cartella A, n. 46, A.C.P. cartella B, n. 101.
[42] A.C.P. cartella C, n. 136.
[43] In a document dating back to 5 June 1122, there is mention of a curte dicti Comitis et palatio suo, while in November 1269 the Castle of Pozzuoli was entrusted to a castellan esquire, assisted by eight servientes (In Castro Putheoli Castellanus scutifer et octo servientes), all 9 of whom were paid a total of 53 ounces of gold and 16 tarì per year.
[44] A.C.P. cartella A, n. 4.
[45] M.V. vol. CIII, fol. 4.
[46] The Cathedral of Saint Proculus is first documented in the aforementioned R.N.A.M. document no. 333 of July 24, 1026, as Episcopium Sancti Proculi. Recent archaeological investigations have allowed us, however, to predate the continuing use of this church by several centuries; in particular, the discovery of a fragment of the balustrade surrounding the presbytery, dating to the late 8th century, allows us to assign the consecration of this cathedral to a period not necessarily later.
[47] In Pozzuoli, two fine examples of Angevin-era civil portals have survived (and have recently been restored): one featuring a segmental arch with a "bar tracery" cornice in Vico Sant'Artema, and another, more sober one, featuring two simple corbels placed on the jambs, located in Via Crocevia. Furthermore, during the latest restoration work, several other examples of worked stone materials were also discovered, such as capitals, small columns (including some twisted ones), and various moldings, originating from Gothic architectural elements of medieval buildings, such as portals and windows.
[48] Also during the latest restoration, a marble panel dating back to the 14th century bearing the coat of arms of the di Costanzo family was discovered, set into the wall of a house in Via San Procolo, above an entrance, probably originally owned by this same family.
[49] The Tripergole Hospital was unfortunately destroyed by the eruption of Monte Nuovo, which occurred in the last days of September 1538. To date, the remains of this structure (and, more generally, of the entire Tripergole settlement) have not yet been found.
[50] It was through an aqueduct that the Byzantine soldiers of Belisarius entered the city during the siege of Naples in 536.
[51] Paolino Veneto (c. 1274 – June 1344) was a famous polymath (specifically a historian, cartographer, and political scientist) of his time. A member of the Franciscan order, he was appointed bishop of Pozzuoli in June 1324 by Pope John XXII, a position he held until his death.
[52] Among the various infrastructures damaged by the earthquake, the bishop also mentioned the access bridge to the main gate of the city of Pozzuoli. To help the city recover, Queen Joanna I exempted it from all taxes for a year.
[53] Reg. Ang. 1301 B. n. 107 fol 41.
[54] The new Angevin pier was a major engineering feat for Naples during that period. It was a gigantic pier, approximately 350 meters long and 40 meters wide, designed by architect Riccardo Primario, assisted by Matteo Lanzalonga, Griffo de Loffredo, and Marino Nasaro. This structure, despite numerous modifications made over the following centuries (in particular, it was extended several times, particularly with the construction of an additional arm facing east), remained in use until the 1930s, when it was unfortunately largely buried during the construction of the modern Maritime Station.
