La “Grande Trasformazione” del XII secolo

This essay discusses the new findings in Lorenzo Tabarrini’s book, Estate Management around Florence and Lucca, 1000-1250. The period between c. 1180 and c. 1230 witnessed a remarkable acceleration in the overall economic development of Tuscany; this acceleration was the result of rationalised land management, which was based on both the new tools offered by rural lordship and those inherited from the manorial system. How did this change take place? Why is it so difficult to observe it in the extant documentary record? Why did it happen at that particular time? What was the role played by urban or semi-urban markets? Tabarrini’s findings will be employed as a starting point to indicate some directions for further research.