Building Networks: Circulation of Workforces, Techniques, and Architectural Models—Roma and the Lazio Region in Italian and European Context

This chapter reconstructs the building networks identified in the study of medieval house construction in Rome through the ERC Project Petrifying Wealth. The Southern European Shift to Masonry as Collective Investment in Identity, c.1050–1300 (a European Research Council Advanced Grant, GA N° 695515). By analysing building types and construction techniques from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries, this chapter examines the exchange of aesthetic ideas, technological knowledge, and building materials within the periphery of the settlement. It also defines, through the same elements, areas of change and/or influence, and identifies new models, techniques, and building technology, often coming from a great distance. Therefore, this chapter is an important contribution to the debate on building networks, particularly to the circulation of workforces and the implication of the frequent use of architectural models outside of local traditions. The potential of Rome in attracting and accepting new building models and housing types is also highlighted through two case studies (Torre dei Conti and the Caetani Fortress), as well as the role of political and social actors in the exchange of ideas and workforce. These aspects are analysed in the socio-economic context of Rome, and against the background of the relationships made by the city or single individuals across Italy and Europe. The chapter introduces an original way of looking at building activities in Rome during the Middle Ages.