Medieval Todi: Studies in architecture and urbanism (Italy)

This is a study of the Italian hill town of Todi, with special attention given to the town's medieval architecture and urban form. Todi in many ways typifies smaller communes that thrived throughout Italy between the 11th and mid-14th centuries, and offers a selection of well-preserved houses of the 13th and 14th centuries. Todi preserves in its at first apparently chaotic plan, traces of many planning initiatives relating to trends in Italian urban planning and design.; The first chapter, discusses the relevant literature on medieval Italian cities with particular reference to methodology, Todi's history, topography and architecture are considered within the context of the town's overall urban scheme. Chapter II reviews Todi's history, with particular attention to the later Middle Ages, when Todi was most prosperous, and its urban form was most developed.; Chapter III discusses Todi's site and relationship to its territory, including the rural infrastructure that was necessary for political and economic expansion; and focuses on the infrastructure of the city itself, tracing the development of major topographic features within the walls, and describing the history and form of the three wall circuits and their gates.; Chapters IV through VI continue the analysis of Todi's urban structure by describing medieval streets and neighborhoods, indicating major circulation routes and centers of public and private life; the water system, including the use and disposition of fountains, wells, cisterns, sewers and drains; and the development, use and architecture of Todi's main piazza.; Chapter VII reviews literature concerning medieval Italian houses and looks closely at the house types of Todi. An examination of some of Todi's well-preserved 13th- and 14th-century housing stock sheds light on one of the most important contributions of the medieval Italian town. The chapter identifies the typology of houses, details of house design, documentary evidence for ownership and use, and the process of transformation of medieval houses in subsequent centuries.; Chapter VIII focuses on details concerning the means and methods of building in medieval Todi, and evidence for the construction industry.