“Specchiarsi nella pietra (e nel laterizio)”. Economia, tecnologia e sociologia del costruito tra X e XIII secolo nella Toscana settentrionale

This paper analyzes the shift from reused stone material, wood and earth to quarry stone and newly produced bricks in building from 10th to 13th century. The transformations of the economy and society were taken into account, also evaluating the phenomena of social mobility and emulation of aristocracies by the emerging classes (in architectural models and in the use of ancient sarcophagi). The analyzed territory is the northern Tuscany. 42 sites are considered, which include towns, castles and lowland villages. Attention is paid to housing structures and fortifications, while religious buildings, which remained almost constantly in stone throughout the Middle Ages, are not discussed. The data show how the city, seat of public power, was the privileged place for investment in stone architecture, that from the middle of the 11th century was once again quarried. From this moment and especially from the 12th century, economic and demographic growth, combined with a greater aristocratic capacity to exploit resources and men, allowed a more widespread use of stone materials even in the countryside, where the aristocratic groups had returned to reside more permanently. In the 12th century also brick was produced again, first in urban centers and at the end of the century in rural areas.