Original scientific paper
Communal Regulation of the City Space in Medieval Trogir
Irena Benyovsky
Abstract
From the thirteenth century onwards the commune of Trogir started to devise rules for the orderly development of the city space. The first measures ranged between general prescriptions and ad hoc measures. Such laws were in most cases later included in the city statutes. Statute orders aimed at regulation of the city space deal with the protection of public (communal) space, the control of public health, the prevention of pollution and the promotion of regulated growth. The safeguarding of the communal space and the defence against the encroachments of private properties made up one of the main issues of the regulations. The distinction between private and public was not very clear in dealing with streets overlooked by houses that were obviously private. The upkeep of the streets was the responsibility of the commune but also of the owners of the surrounding houses. Protection of public health was important for improving public hygiene and the image of the city. There was an obvious attempt to preserve the “beauty” of the city. Many regulations were intended to provide protection of houses from fire as well. Such measures were even more detailed in other Dalmatian statutes, even though they were never so advanced as was the case with contemporary Italian city statutes, where whole books of these statutes were devoted to this subject.
Keywords
Trogir; history of urbanism; social history; statutory law; the Middle Ages
Hrčak ID:
7983
URI
Publication date:
1.3.2004.
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