Space and Property in Medieval Towns in the Venetian Part of Istria: The Case of Piran
Space and Property in Medieval Towns in the Venetian Part of Istria: The Case of Piran

Author(s): Darja Mihelič
Subject(s): Local History / Microhistory, Rural and urban sociology, 13th to 14th Centuries
Published by: Hrvatski institut za povijest
Keywords: Istria; Piran; space and property structures; urbanization; housing plots;
Summary/Abstract: Late antique and early medieval Istrian towns lived in a symbiosis with their agricultural hinterland, using it for economy purposes. As a result of the Frankish conquest and Byzantine loss of Istria in the second half of the 8th century, this region adopted the Frankish system of rural estates. Its foundation was the Frankish principle that all land with no owner and land conquered in military campaigns be-longed to the ruler, who could dispose with it at his will. The rulers granted estates with their privileges (and people) to their army commanders, who colonized there, partly or in full, their own vassals, who again granted the land to their subjects. Charlemagne assigned Istria to Duke John. But despite the new regime, the towns of Istria preserved their traditional influence over a wider area outside their urban setting, even during the process of evolving into autonomous medieval city-states.

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