Recent studies have demonstrated the fundamental importance of fiscal assets in the functioning of Tuscan society from the mature Lombard period to the end of the 11th century. The wide distribution of these assets, their purposes – to supply the court and reward those loyal to it – and their modes of management – which are marked by the precariousness of concessions and the rapid circulation of property – had a profound impact on the regional economy. Drawing on archaeological evidence, recent studies have highlighted the role of fiscal curtes as centres of specialised production. Yet an even more significant function of theirs would appear to have been the rationalisation and coordination of existing production, as well as their role as hubs through which consumer goods and products were channelled towards the region’s political centres – above all Lucca, with its palace and marquisal court. This movement of goods and the subsequent circulation of surpluses did not take commercial forms; it was governed instead by extra-economic mechanisms of control (as exercised by the royal fisc) and redistribution (in the form of gifts). Even at the local level, production in the fiscal curtes and in the ‘private sector’ showed little sign of integration. The collapse of the fiscal system at the turn of the 12th century brought about a fundamental transformation for several reasons. On the one hand, it ensured greater stability for the assets of churches and aristocrats, encouraging them to expand their investments – as is evident in the spread of fortifications and the growth of local lordship. On the other hand, it ended – at both the local and regional levels – the artificial division between the fiscal production circuit and the private economies. Finally, it compelled aristocrats and churches to seek on the market those products they had once received as gifts; among other consequences, this led to increasing pressure on the peasants to provide the resources which were by then indispensable for accessing the market. In this way, the structural change that marked the end of the fiscal system contributed directly to the expansion of the Tuscan economy, which became particularly visible from the second half of the 12th century onwards.
The Dissolution of Fiscal Assets as a Factor in Structural Economic Change between 11th and 12th Centuries
SIMONE MARIA COLLAVINI
2026-01-01
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated the fundamental importance of fiscal assets in the functioning of Tuscan society from the mature Lombard period to the end of the 11th century. The wide distribution of these assets, their purposes – to supply the court and reward those loyal to it – and their modes of management – which are marked by the precariousness of concessions and the rapid circulation of property – had a profound impact on the regional economy. Drawing on archaeological evidence, recent studies have highlighted the role of fiscal curtes as centres of specialised production. Yet an even more significant function of theirs would appear to have been the rationalisation and coordination of existing production, as well as their role as hubs through which consumer goods and products were channelled towards the region’s political centres – above all Lucca, with its palace and marquisal court. This movement of goods and the subsequent circulation of surpluses did not take commercial forms; it was governed instead by extra-economic mechanisms of control (as exercised by the royal fisc) and redistribution (in the form of gifts). Even at the local level, production in the fiscal curtes and in the ‘private sector’ showed little sign of integration. The collapse of the fiscal system at the turn of the 12th century brought about a fundamental transformation for several reasons. On the one hand, it ensured greater stability for the assets of churches and aristocrats, encouraging them to expand their investments – as is evident in the spread of fortifications and the growth of local lordship. On the other hand, it ended – at both the local and regional levels – the artificial division between the fiscal production circuit and the private economies. Finally, it compelled aristocrats and churches to seek on the market those products they had once received as gifts; among other consequences, this led to increasing pressure on the peasants to provide the resources which were by then indispensable for accessing the market. In this way, the structural change that marked the end of the fiscal system contributed directly to the expansion of the Tuscan economy, which became particularly visible from the second half of the 12th century onwards.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
