Hidden in Plain Sight: the "Pietre Di Paragone" and the Preeminence of Medieval Measurements in Communal Italy

Hidden in Plain Sight: The "Pietre di Paragone" and the Preeminence of Medieval Measurements in Communal Italy Author(s): EMANUELE LUGLI Reviewed work(s): Source: Gesta, Vol. 49, No. 2 (2010), pp. 77-95 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the International Center of Medieval Art Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41550540 . Accessed: 13/11/2012 16:13

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This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Hidden in Plain Sight: The Pietre di Paragone and the

Preeminence of Medieval Measurements in Communal Italy*

EMANUELE LUGLI KunsthistorischesInstitut, Florence

Abstract betweenclassical, Carolingian,and medieval systems?),I arguethat Italy's medievalmeasurements were standardized In thesquares of many Italian cities, unnoticed by most at theend of thetenth century. This move spurredeconomic passersby,incisions carved in stone reproduce the dimensions and was decisivefor the consolida- themeasurements that were locallyuntil 1861, regeneration particularly of employed tionof the associationsbetween citizens whenthe nation endorsed the metric system. By gathering the communes,political evidencepertaining tothese forms of display, this essay hopes createdto safeguardtheir practical interests over those of the tobring them back into historical consciousness. The story that rulingaristocratic and ecclesiasticalclasses.3 The communes, - followsis a richone, for these carvings here called pietre di whose originsand overallstructure varied notably from city - performedmany key functions inmedieval society. paragone to city,established themselves throughout the twelfth century Besides trade,they were at thecenter of a con- regularizing also theinterests of other withinthe cordanceof gazes and bodies, social rituals that contributed against organizations city. tothe construction ofcollective identity, and thepolitical es- Internalas well as externalcompetition required enforcement, tablishmentofthe Italian communes. An investigation into the andyet the communes strove to displacea senseof oppression nexusbetween politics and measurements shows how the latter on thepart of thecitizens by promotinga desirefor societal originatedinthe crumbling ofimperial authority at the end of actionand Measurements servedthis thetenth In addition,the the representation. perfectly century. politicalsignificance of twofold workedas the communes' pietreis underscoredby the tremendous attention that local purpose:they essentially authoritieshave paid to theirpreservation. These maneuvers toolsof controlwhile (and because) citizenstook them as the lendweight to thecause of those scholars who challenge the verysource of egalitarianjustice. ideaof the Middle Ages as a dark,uncivilized era. Propelledby an activeengagement with measurements, themedieval communes devised a revolutionarymethod to pre- servethese measurements, which I callpietre di paragone. This refersto seriesof that the TheInvention theMiddle as Bedlam expression grooves reproduce city's of Ages Metrological measurementsincised on thefacades of the cathedral, commu- A seemingparadox informs our view of late medieval nal palace,or canopies in thecenter of one ofthe main squares societyin Italy. Even though from the eleventh century on, Italy (Figs. 1-5). Althoughmany pietre still exist, today their pres- enjoyedan economicboom, scholarsare largelyconvinced ence is hardlynoticed. When scholarsmention them, it is in thatuntil the mid-fourteenth century Italians failed to develop relationto mercantilepractices, since the square that the pietre reliablesystems of measurement.1Contributing to thismisun- overlookusually was thesite of thelocal market.While such derstandingis thefact that different units were used to mea- a functionis undeniable- thepietre did allow standardsto be - sureproducts we todayconsider similar (for instance, the unit checkedduring business transactions their role extended far forsilk was notthe same as thatfor wool cloth).Also, many beyondthis one. This essay aims to addressthis shortcoming scholarsassume that the dimensions of medieval measurements andthus restore the wide-ranging cultural impact of the pietre. fluctuatedover time,perhaps decreasing with the erosionof Notonly did they contribute to the political establishment ofthe theirmetal standards.2 Thinking of theMiddle Ages as lack- commune,but they also generateda newperception of space. ingany coherent system of measurementshas becomesuch an This revolutionhas gone undetectedsince the sixteenth ingrainedhabit that this deficiency has become in the popu- century,that is, sincethe period that first gave a historicaldefi- lar consciousnessone of theera's definingtraits, one of those nitionof medievaltimes. The FlorentineVincenzo Borghini characteristicsby whichwe distinguish,for instance, between (1515-1580) lamentedthat the measurements of his time were medievaland modern times. With the present article, however, mostunstable and confusing("e si può diregeneralmente la I wantto reversesuch claims by presentingevidence that will cosa delle misure,e de' pesi incertissima,ed instabilissima"), showthat medieval systems of measurementwere stable and an effect,he claimed,of the despicable conduct of his ancestors, scrupulouslycontrolled and thatregulation of measurements whowere responsible for the disintegration of Rome's cultural wanedduring the early Renaissance. Although many questions system.4Many sharedhis view: in moderntreatises it is quite aboutthe medieval genesis of metrological systems remain con- commonto find a remarkon measuringas a sourceof problems. troversial(for example, what was thedimensional relationship Luca Pacioli(1446/47-15 17), the famous mathematician, went

GESTA49/2 © The International Center ofMedieval Art 2010 77

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions so faras to provideclear definitionsof themeasurements he aesthetics.In hisintoxicating essay "Von deutscherBaukunst," mentionedin his TractatusGeometriae , lest his geometrical JohannWolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832) vigorouslystates demonstrationsbe questioned.5 thatthe classicist principles, to whichhe relatesproportional- Sincethe consequences of this lack of standardswere far- ityand measurement,no longerneed be at thefoundation of reaching- the absence of precisemeasurements was feltto artcriticism. Those who are enslavedby theserules, he says, affecttrade as well as justice- someprogressive lords decided thosewho "have measured rather than felt," miss the source of to takethe problem into their own hands.In 1554 in Mantua, art,which is autonomous,unconcerned, free feeling.10 Many theruling Gonzaga family commissioned a set of new standards followedGoethe's soul-fillingamazement before the stag- to putan endto thedisorder that vexed merchants and citizens geringvoid of thecathedral and, like him,championed sub- alike. Milan, moreambitiously, standardized its systemand lime instinct.There is littleneed to dwell on this.11Yet, in triedto expandits use to thewhole Lombard region between thiscontext, it is importantto stressthe consequences of the 1597 and 1608.It failed,though a secondattempt in 1781 suc- historicaloutlook these opinions endorsed. Maintained by both ceeded,one yearbefore Grand Duke PietroLeopoldo (1747- nineteenth-centuryItalian reformers and Romantic thinkers, the 1792) imposedthe stable Florentine system across Tuscany. view of theMiddle Ages as metrologicallychaotic grew over In Italy,the problem of measurements- its diagnosis and timeinto an incontrovertibletruism. solution- can be said to tracea modernparabola, reaching its Thiscondensed history indicates that thinking of the Mid- apexwith Napoleon. After taking over northern Italy, Napoleon dle Ages as unfocusedis a historicalconstruct that served to substitutedall local measurementswith the brand-new metric supportideological as well as aestheticviews. Reconsider for system,which he enforcedthroughout Europe.6 To facilitatethe a momentthe case of Borghini.As a courtierof Cosimo and use ofthe new systemin Italy,Napoleon commissioned tables Francescode' Medici as well as a mostinfluential critic, he recordingall themeasurements of thesubjected areas and quan- used his writingsvigorously to upholdthe cultural achieve- tifyingthem in meters.Collected into a book- knownsimply mentsof his owntimes.12 It is thuslikely that instead of seeing as Tavoledi Ragguaglio- thesetables were painstakingly pre- metrologicalchaos as a productof his own people, he attributed cise and offered,for the firsttime, a reliablesurvey of what itto an earlierera, which was commonlyclassified as anticlas- measurementswere used and where.7If theTavole , withtheir sical. (In theeyes of theRenaissance, the Middle Ages were meticuloustranscriptions ofall local measurementsinnumbers, whatthe Renaissancewas not.) His definitionof theMiddle representedthe ultimateproduct of modernstandardization, Ages as metrologicallychaotic is, afterall, notbased on any theyalso, indirectly, strengthened the idea ofmedieval Italy as hardevidence. metrologicalbedlam. The chartsgo so faras to reportdimen- Whenwe look at medievaldata, meanwhile, some hints sionsdown to themillimeter, thus creating visible differences pointto a societyintensely engaged with measuring and survey- betweensystems that were practically identical. The readerof ing.Eric Fernie,for instance, showed that Francesco Balducci theTavole cannot help butfeel lost in a sea of numbers;this Pegolotti(d. 1347), the authorof a compilationof European graphicdiscomfort resulted in winningpolitical support for mercantilepractices, had a firmgrip on thedimensional rela- themeter, which was endorsedby the whole of Italy only with tionshipsbetween the measurementsemployed throughout 8 unificationin 1861. Europe.13Olivier Reguin, whose research focuses on economics The nationaldebate over whetherto endorsethe metric in southernFrance, has also shownthat various measurements system,which ensued from the political bar set by the Congress wereeffectively compared with each otherin bothCarolingian ofVienna in 1814-15,gave momentumto studieson measure- and late medievaltimes.14 Evidence of thissort also existsfor ments.9Besides sharpeninghistorians' perception, the meter northernItaly, the focus of thisessay. In Bologna,thirteenth- finallyprovided them with a neutralunit by whichall ancient centurysurveys usually called libri terminorumreport the standardscould be comparedand to whichevery European dimensionsof all thecity's public spaces downto theinch.15 scholarcould relate.Still, the treatises of thetime, repetitive The Modenesebraccio recorded in the 1803 Napoleonic Tavole and shorton evidence,were historically poor. Because they can be usedto explain,with the utmost degree of precision, the mostlyserved the cause ofreintroducing the meter, they made geometricplan of ModenaCathedral (1099-1 130s),thus hint- use of Borghini'sconvenient characterization of the Middle ing at thecontinuity of thelocal measurementsfor more than Ages as unruly. sevencenturies.16 Other examples could be presented,yet they In thenineteenth century, Borghini's stance was so com- would not add to a picturethat remains only hypothetical as monthat even theRomantic intellectuals who werereevalu- longas thesecases continueto be regardedas exceptions.Most atingthe Middle Ages did notresist it. I findit symptomatic scholarsoverlook the studies I have mentionedas too tortuous of theircredulity that they took the incommensurable Gothic and skepticallystress the lack of outright,firsthand evidence. cathedralas theultimate expression of the medieval spirit. The Indeed,no physicalmetal bar has survivedfrom the Middle Romanticscelebrated the cathedral because they believed that Ages, and writtensources are mute. medievalsociety turned its back on down-to-earthquantifica- This silence seems to derivefrom the classical authors tion,an insouciancethat they found inspirational for modern veneratedin medievaltimes, such as Plato and Aristotle,who

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions FIGURE1. Fidenza, S. Donnino,socle of the south tower , pietra di paragone FIGURE2. Bologna,Palazzo d'Accursio, socle of the west facade, pietre di representingthelocal pertica (photo: author ). paragone(photo : author ). rarelytouch on measurements.17Patristic literature also lacks metrologicalreferences. When theologianstalk of measurements,they speak of biblicalor Romanstandards, that is, of measurementsthat have attainedthe statusof literarytropes andcan thenfit into their atemporal, symbol-ridden discourse. St. Augustine(354-430) writesthat numbers are thehidden principleand soul of everything (De liberoarbitrio 2.16.42), a stancethat affected measurements as well,since measurements weretreated as numericsurrogates. Measuring, then, served theologiansto linkany physical object - fromchurches to holy relics- to numbersand thence to associatethem with the mys- terythat is at thecore of theexegetical tradition. The beliefthat measurement standards disappeared, the silenceof classicalas well as medievalsources, and theopen- endednessof religious literature have all contributedto support- FIGURE3. Piacenza,Palazzo Comunale, north facade, pietre di paragone ingBorghini's stance that medieval people were metrologically (photo:author). incompetent.With this essay, I setout to examinethe possibil- itythat this silence about measurements as well as therecourse this exultation,with its patentlynostalgic overtones, shifts topietre di paragone, thatis, to negativeincisions rather than and becomesa morenationalistic reading. Nineteenth-century to positivemetal standards, was intrinsicto theirpreservation. politiciansdid notremove local standardsbecause theycon- sideredthem useful in recallingItaly's dreadful babel of past economiesand narrow-mindedcampanilismo . They warned ThePietre di Paragone peopleof themiserable state to whichdissolution might even- As notedabove, many northern Italian cities still display tuallyreturn them. Yet, at the same time, the faded, washed-out theirlocal unitsof measurement.The perticaruns, unnoticed, appearanceof the incisions reassured people of the remoteness above thedado of thesouth tower of S. Donnino,in Fidenza ofthat possibility and of the unequivocal lightness of the pres- (Fig. 1), and measurementstandards are carvedinto the socle ent,unified system. of Bologna's AccursioPalace (Fig. 2) and a pillarof Piacen- Despitedamage, most of these carvings have resisted time. za' s Palazzo Comunale(Fig. 3). Theyrise vertically,like the Theircourse may now be uneven,but the stonehas to some groovesof a Corinthiancolumn, on the pillarsof Verona's degreepreserved their dimensions. In theMiddle Ages, as in ciborium(Fig. 4) and are spreadin an orderlyfashion, to great antiquity,stone was thematerial believed to be bestat resisting decorativeeffect, on bothsides of the apse windowof Modena timeand intoit was carvedeverything worth preserving, from Cathedral(Fig. 5). The listgoes on and on. tombslabs to inscriptions.In 11 16, whenPope PaschalII was Historianshardly ever refer to theseincisions, mention- afraidthat Henry V wouldconquer Canossa and thusalienate ing themonly as one mightcomment on curiosof folkloric theChurch's property, he made surethat the official record of appeal.They are evoked as materialtraces of these cities' histo- itslegitimacy was carvedin stone.18The 1173 statutesof Fer- riesas thriving,independent economic centers, but sometimes rarawere inscribed on thewalls of thecity's cathedral for the

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions FIGURE4. Verona,Piazza delle Erbe , capitello, end of the 14th century FIGURE5. Modena,cathedral, east apse, pietre di paragone, first recorded (photo:author). therein 1547 (photo: author ). samereason. Stone did preserve them: Ferrara' s arethe earliest vandal'sonly recourse was to chipaway a piece of stonefrom statuteshanded down to us. theframe, increasing its size and thusachieving precisely the Still,it was less stonethan the metal plaques at theends oppositeof whatany forger would wish, which is to fabricate of the carvingsthat guaranteed the incorruptibilityof mea- shorter,not longer, standards. surementstandards. The communalpromulgations explicitly Showingstandards as negativeswas also a consequenceof orderedthat the impressionsshould be "ferrata"in orderto thedefinition of measurement as an immaterialratio, a distance preventtheir deformation over time.19 The prescriptionregard- betweentwo points. This view circulatedamong the medieval ingmetal plaques is theonly explicit indication about construc- elites throughthe geometricinvestigations of Boethius(ca. tionof the standards; the method and quality of the carving are 480-524/25),St. Augustine(De qualitateanimae ), and Ger- neverdiscussed, and its supplieris unnamed.The communal bertď Aurillac(946-1003). In hisIsagoge geometriae , Gerbert directivesleave thephysical exemplars of measurementstan- clearlystates that a footis two-dimensional.Like othergeo- dardsunaddressed, perhaps because therewere none. This is metricabstractions, itcan be understoodonly intellectually and mostclearly seen in Parma,where iron plaques stick out of the notexperienced in reality,since everythingin thereal world facadeof thecathedral and identifya void (Figs. 6 and 7). All has threedimensions.20 theincisions indicate empty space; the veryfew metalbars This stancewas embracedby thecommunal administra- thatfill them are recentadditions. In Bergamo,for instance, tions,which understood that the dematerialization of measure- thesebars are inscribed with meter markings, indicating a post- mentswas crucialfor their preservation and hence for the city's unificationcasting (Fig. 8). In orderto be checked,any dubi- economicstability. A physicalstandard can be easilyfalsified, ous toolwas insertedinto the groove between the metal ends. while a void is incorruptible,because it is simplynot there. Carvingthe magnitude of local measurementsinto buildings The Bolognesestatutes of 1250 recordthe local brickas 9-by- was a clevererway of preventingalteration than, for instance, 4-by-2once , stressingits relationship with the 12 -once foot in attachingiron bars to thewall. Faced withan emptygroove, a case thestandard is notavailable.21 They imply that a unitof

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions measurementwas not immanentto its physicalstandard but couldbe retrievedmathematically from another. Similarly, the 1336 statutesof Modena (a copy of the 1327 legislationas approvedby Modena's new lord Obizzo III) representmea- surementsby a drawing,thus showing that standards could be replicatedgraphically.22 Yetthe ideas of Gerbert, an intellectualmonk, and the statutes,compiled by learnedjurists, were not commonplace, and an approachto measurementsas physical,three-dimensional objectscan also be found.Bonvesin de la Riva (1240-1313/15) inhis De magnalibusurbis Mediolani , a celebrationof Milan's wonders,identifies a cubitus with the metal bar that reproduces itand thus, besides its length, assigns it a specificwidth.23 Bon- vesinhere displays a practicalexperience of measurements, far fromtheir judicial value or theirintellectual apprehension as immaterial,which is likelyto have derivedfrom the duties of FIGURE6. Parma,west facade of the cathedral , the pertica (photo: author). theUmiliati, a Milaneseorder in charge of safekeeping of measurementsand of whichBonvesin may have been a member.24 This dual conceptualizationof measurements,as both physicalobjects and immaterialratios, came fromthe Roman twofoldtradition. On theone hand,the Romans guarded their standardsin theTemple of JupiterOptimus Maximus on the Capitol (medieval people probablyrecalled thatthe Bible recordsthe Jewish standards inside the Temple of Jerusalem).25 On theother, they engraved them, in a highlystylized manner, on a slab in themarket of Leptis Magna.26 In the Middle Ages, the two customswere not in conflict.Quite the opposite. The statutesof Viterbo,of 1251-52, explicitlyrequire their coexistence. The commune'sofficial passus was in factboth the wooden standard in thepossession ofAngelo Burgundione and the incision on thecolumn of Sta. MariaNuova.27 The 1265 statutesof Parma order that both the carvingsand thephysical standards ("ferratum et bullatum") shouldbe madeavailable whenever required.28 Duplication was thestandard technique used to guaranteeincorruptibility in the Middle as the behindthe Schreinsurkunden con- Ages, practice FIGURE1. Detailof Fig. 6. firms.The trustworthinessofthese documents was guaranteed by keepingan originalin thesafes of theissuing community andby makinga duplicateto circulatein public.29 The medievalchurch absorbed many aspects of the classical temple,and in thecase ofmeasurement, Emperor Justinian (483-565) madethis continuance unequivocal. In his Corpus iuriscivilis , whichbecame the backbone of communal legisla- tion,he statedthat measures and weights had to be keptin one ("unuscuiusque")church per city.30 In Italy,this is recordedas earlyas 1147, when the measurement standards were in the cus- todyof the canons of Pisa Cathedral,the city's most important church.31Whether these measurements were incisions on the church'sexterior walls or metal bars is notclear, but their asso- ciationwith the city's most important church is indisputable. Even thoughthe communal statutes are casual aboutdif- ferentiatingbetween the two types of standards- usuallythey - areboth referred to as "mensura"or "moduli" thedistinction FIGURE8. Bergamo,Sta. Maria Maggiore, pietre diparagone, yïm recorded is important,because the two modalities of existence (tangible/ therein 1204 (photo: author).

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions immaterial,movable/fixed) prompted two differentforms of The cross-checksof the communes' policing system responded engagement(private/public, practical/symbolic).32 1 thus use to a newform of political culture that, instead of radiating from pietredi paragoneto identifythe incisions displayed in open one authority,was enmeshedin the actionsof thedominant air.Originally an expressionused in alchemy,meaning "touch- groupsof society. stones,"pietre di paragone in Italian today simply means "stan- The communalnotaries insisted on therole of the citizens dardsof comparison,"but I employthe term here because it as a groupin bestowinglegitimacy on a document.Reversing evokes the stonesupport of the incisions(pietre ) as well as theterms latent in Carolingianlaw, theiiotaries stressed that highlightingtheir prevalent function as visual markers(para- a documentpresented to a popularassembly (in plebe) was gone). I foundspecific references to measurementsand their equivalentto itsbeing examined by thebishop.39 The popular supportsonly in the statutesof Modena,33but I nevertheless assemblycould eventuallybe substitutedby a notarybecause expandits use toencompass all similardisplays, stressing a dif- of his knowledgeof thecode, thetool forthe preservation of ferencethat the technical documents may not have handed down communalwelfare. Indeed, Goffredus of Trani(d. 1245), in butthat nevertheless affected life in themedieval communes. his Summa, definesthe documents approved by thenotary as "public."Goffredus also emphasizesthat the reliability of a pri- vateagreement increases with the number of eyewitnesses, thus In theCustody of Hundreds revealingthe juridical rationale of his times,when legitimacy Bothtypes of measurement(the incisionsand themetal was understoodas pluralagreement.40 Although responsibil- bars) requiredprotection. The officialguarding of physical ityfell on the individual(the councilappointed only people objectshardly needs much comment, besides recalling that Ital- of elevatedstanding to communaloffices), the brevity of each iancommunes had no all-purposepolice but only discrete moni- appointee'smandate was an attemptto reproduceplurality. toringbodies, each of whichacted more or less independently. To avoid its opposite,tyranny, was perhapsthe mostvexing Thoseresponsible for measurements went under many names, politicalproblem for the communes;the countlesscounter- suchas officiariibollettarum in Modena, scarii in Bologna, and verificationsand relianceon associativebodies were a means iusticeriin Padua.34Their role was to keepone setof measure- ofpreventing a single individual from dominating. For all that, mentstandards, but they also supervisedtrade within the city: thecommunes were still far from democratic and remained the theyregularly inspected tools, kilns, and sellers,fined counter- politicaldomain of theelite.41 feitersand arranged for their public derision, a punishmentpar- The visibilityof thepietre di paragonecan be takenas a ticularlydreaded by merchants, who feared loss ofcredibility.35 wayto solvethis problem. The incorruptibilityofthe standards In Parmathe office was held- the 1240s statutesinform was ensurednot only by thereputation of thesingular officers us- byfour fraters, a termthat has beeninterpreted as referring butalso bydiffused monitoring as endorsedby the whole popu- toeither penitents or friars.36 Their authority had a broadscope, lation.Parma statutes repeat several times, almost to excess, sincethey were also givenoversight of sales in grain,flour, and thatany citizen could call anyother a counterfeiter,including wine.(One officialeven had to testbread for weight, quality, thepodestà.42 If provedright, the accuser was rewardedwith andcolor.)37 Yet thesecommissions were fluid in composition halfthe fine paid by theguilty party, an incentiveoffered by andthey changed over time. The Parmastatutes of twenty-five manyother communes.43 By relyingon theconcerted watchful- yearslater, in 1265, alreadyshow a different,more complex nessof the whole population, the communes obtained, without situationwith increased traffic and tightercontrols. Generic mucheffort, effective, constant vigilance. The eyesof the peo- ecclesiastics(religiosi viri) had takenover the duties.Their ple wereindeed wide open,as Salimbenede Adam(1221-ca. numberremained at four, but the two most experienced officers 1290) typifiesin his Chronicawith the character of Guidolino workedpermanently at themarket, where they collected fines of Enzola, a busybody: andauthentication fees. Four more inspectors were elected and assignedto controlbusiness in theentire bishopric, outside the Andevery day he heardMass in thecathedral and, when citywalls: each yearthey inspected the standardsthat every he could,the Divine Offices. He thensat with his neigh- communitywith more than eight hearths (focis) was required bors underthe communityportico near the bishop's to keep at thelocal church.This is anotherindication that the palace. He spoke of God, and gladlylistened to others measurementsfunctioned as one of the commune'smecha- speakingof Him. He also used to stop the boys from nismsof controlover the surrounding territory.38 damagingthe bas-reliefs and thefrescoes of thebaptis- All paymentsfor the checking of measurements were reg- teryand thecathedral. ... He acted as thoughhe were isteredin record books, which were inspected by the massario , an officialcustodian.44 who eventuallyhad to respondto thepodesta and thecouncil of elders.The communescontrolled measurements at various The displayof thepietre di paragone on a mainsquare, levels,without necessarily following a hierarchical,pyramidal the pulsatingheart of a city's public life and the site of structure.This differed from Carolingian times, when certifica- crowdedhappenings, created the ideal conditionsfor secure tionmostly depended on theapproval of thebishop or count. monitoring.Their location (on verticalpillars or on central,

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions slightlyelevated structures)as well as theirarchitectural highlyregulated, and, through the constant repetition of actions, framingcan be interpretedas both an attemptto facilitate sights,and events,the citizens themselves contributed to the visual controland as an effectof thisprimacy of gaze.45The constitutionof a diffusedpower. This concatenation, by which statutesof Reggio of 1268 are clear about the factthat the a singularact was linkedto others,was seenin positiveterms. pietredi paragone shouldbe placed somewhereon thecom- Opičinode Canistris(1296-ca. 1336) revealedsome optimism munalpalace forall to see.46Total exposure was regardedas a whenpresenting Pavia as a tightlyknit fabric of people: "All formof control as effectiveas totalconcealment, and theciti- citizensknow one anotherso well thatthey may meet several zens embraceddiffused monitoring as an inevitable,almost timesduring a day:once in the communal palace, another in the natural,consequence of communalliving. piazza.And each of them, if requested, would be ableto indicate Controlby sightwas possiblealso because of an increas- on thespot where another's house was even if it stoodin the inglyoptimistic belief in certitudeas a productof vision.This farthestcorner of thecity."52 Urban life, as describedby Opi- idea,which is so embeddedin theway we thinknow thatwe čino,is highlyregulated: the Pavesi frequentthe same places, mayfind it hard to imagineany other possibility, emerged with thepalace orthe square, both of which were constructed by the particularforce at the end of the twelfthand throughoutthe commune.They do notquestion the communal nature of their thirteenthcenturies in thewritings of RobertGrosseteste (ca. livingand they do notseek privacy. Their proximity makes them 1168-1253), John Peckham (ca. 1230-1292),Witelo (ca. 1230- well versedin each other'shabits, a stateof thingsthat, even before1314), and, most notably, Roger Bacon (ca. 1220-1292), withoutnoticing, leads to reciprocalcontrol. This is thesocio- withhis treatisePerspectiva (dated to 1263). Strengthenedby culturalcontext in whichthe very existence of the pietre di pa- hisunique mastery of Alhazen's (965-1039) teachingsand with ragonewas madepossible. Generally regarded only as technical a profusionof explanatorygeometric drawings, Bacon's work toolsfor regulating the market, the pietre were also important systematizedall previousknowledge on optics in a reliable in theirrole as enforcersof a collectiveidentity that, through compendium.There, he presentedvision as a bodilyfaculty pluralmonitoring, produced cohesion among the citizenry and that,despite being embedded in psychology,could neverthe- substantiatedcommunal authority. The associationbetween the less producecertitude ("It mustbe understoodthat when these pietreand thecommune was by no meansspontaneous, how- nineconditions do notdepart from moderation - thatis, when ever.Everything within the city did not naturally refer to its gov- theyare met,neither in excess norin deficiency- thenvision ernment.(Quite the reverse: the city was punctuatedby many achievescertainty").47 examplesof political forces resisting the commune.) Instead, as As KatherineTachau has shown,vision became a cru- thehistory of the emergence of medieval measurement systems cial epistemictool, whichaffected the intellectualdiscourse willnow reveal, it was a bondthat was laboriouslyconstructed on truth.48However, scientists were not the only ones who by thecommunes themselves over the years. wereadopting this new stance.As MarvinTrachtenberg has provedfor Florence, the model provided by opticswas rapidly The Originof Medieval Measurements embracedby a communalinstitution, which put it to use forthe structureof its urban projects.49 In additionto being designed as As far as I am aware, the earliestsurviving record of sitesfor spectacular assemblies, squares were laid outaccord- theexistence of pietre di paragone in Italycomes from1195 ing to a logic thatstemmed from optics. Because the signing Faenza.53In thatyear the ChroniconFaventinum mentions ofimportant documents as well as marriagesand funerals took thatthe standard of thefoot was positionednear the doors of place in loggias,private events were turned into social perfor- thecathedral ("ante ianuas maioris ecclesiae posuit mensuram mances.From a legal pointof view,as Goffredusreveals, a pedis ad terrammensurandam").54 It is notpossible to saypre- largecrowd increased the reliability of anycontract, but from ciselywhere the foot was located,since we do notknow the a social perspective,it also strengthenedthe bonds between appearanceof the twelfth-century church.55 Federico Manfredi peopleand between them and thecommune.50 (d. 1488),bishop of the city and brother of Faenza' s lordCarlo The pietredi paragonewere made visiblenot simply so II, rebuiltthe cathedral beginning in 1474 followinga planby theycould be efficientlycontrolled but also becausethey were Giulianoda Maiano,which swept away theold cathedraland partof a programthat reinforced the politicalagenda of the itsstandards with it. groupsat thehead of thecommunes, legitimizing their behav- AfterFaenza, we have a 1204 recordfor Bergamo that ior.The architectureof squaresand loggias should then be seen explicitlystates: "all pareti [linearstandards] must be shaped as crucialelements of thisproject, since theystandardize the accordingto the standardthat is above the ground,near the movementof bodies and gazes. The politicalvalue of these maindoor of thechurch of Sta. Maria Maggiore."Other mea- structurescould hardly be expressedmore patently than in the surementswere carved in 1248 nearthe parete , and,although fourteenth-centuryCremonese statutes, which allow citizens to heavilyrestored, pietre di paragoneare still in place there(see gatheronly in thesquares and in thedistrict loggias.51 Fig. 8).56After Bergamo, a profusionof other documents reveal Althoughcommunal life required a level of participation thatpietre di paragone were presentin the squaresof most thatmust have felt unprecedented to medievalpeople, life was thirteenth-centurycities.57

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The carvingof pietre di paragonewas, however,not the The use of local measurementstandards is firstacknowl- originof medieval units of measurement, which had been used edgedas customaryby a 996 imperialdiploma. The purposeof since 973, as a documentby Bologna's bishop Adalbertus thediploma is petty- to grantthe use ofa fieldto Pisa- butits indicates.Adalbertus wrote to thebishop of Parmato reclaim culturalsignificance is wide.When Ottoman secretaries defined thechurch of S. Stefano.Not onlywas S. Stefanoone of the thesize of thefield, they pointed out that it is expressedin the city'scrucial devotional centers, but the large estate surround- unitsof measurementas determinedby thecity ("secundum ing it was also veryprofitable. The wealthychurch had been mensuramlegitimam et nominationempatrie").66 The expres- givento Parmain 887 by BishopMaimbertus who wantedto sion"mensura legitima" comes straight from Carolingian chan- insultBologna, in retaliationfor its having opposed his inves- cery,67but "nominationem patrie" is nota recurringformula. titure.58Besides presenting utilitarian reasons (a churchshould Patria unmistakablyrefers to theterritory of Pisa and notto be administeredby thosewho use it), Adalbertusoffered the thekingdom of Italy, for which the imperial scribes would have bishopof Parmaa paymentof thirtytornature of vineyards.59 employedthe wordregnum. This linguisticdifferentiation is The tornaturais Bologna's distinctiveunit of measure- confirmedby severalcharters of thelate andpost-Carolingian mentfor surface area, and from 973 on itappears in documents periods,in whichregnum is clearlyopposed to patria.6* fairlyregularly. A documentfrom 983 reportsa vineyardthat The 996 diploma,of course,relates only to Pisa,but con- was 24-by-12perticae, which is 2 tornature.Another docu- sideringthe geographic proximity and political cohesion of the ment,from 1008, reports on a smallpiece of land - overlooking Italiancities, all of whichwere requesting similar privileges at thestreet outside the city that led to S. Tommaso- of4 clusori, thesame time,it is unlikelyPisa wouldhave been an isolated whichare specifiedas subdivisionsof the tornatura ("qui sunt case. Pisa createdItaly's first recorded commune in 1085.It is clusorosquatuor tornaturiis").60 The frequencyof theserefer- thusnot impossible that the city should have developeda pre- ences and, especially,the proportionalitybetween measure- cocious senseof independence.69 mentunits leave littledoubt that a homogeneoussystem based The diploma,together with Bologna's contemporaneous on thetornatura was establishedin Bolognaby theend of the use of tornature, seems to indicatethat toward the end of the tenthcentury.61 tenthcentury Italian cities were equippingthemselves with Thisdating seems acceptable, considering northern Italy's local systemsof measurement.70Yet, it is notuntil the carving politicalclimate. With the deathof Charlesthe Fat in 888, of pietredi paragone thatwe detecta growingawareness of ruleof Italywas disputedamong several military families, all measurement.Starting from the second half of the twelfth cen- claiminglinks to theCarolingian dynasty. The royalchancery tury,we have in factan unprecedentednumber of documents in Pavia continuedto function,but, symptomatic of the lack of thatattempt to clarifyprecisely the value of units. cleardirection, itdid not issue norms of general validity, grant- A documentfrom 1 173 for the transfer of property between ingprivileges only to specificaddressees.62 Amid this antago- theS. Ciprianodi Muranomonastery and themarquis d'Este nism,at thebeginning of thetenth century, Italy also suffered makesit explicitthat a mansusequals a surfaceof 40-by-100 theHungarian and Saracendepredations. The firstpost-Car- 12-footpertichae. A seconddocument from 1118 specifies that olingianrulers, Berengar I (d. 924) and Louis the Blind (d. a mansus- in the territoryof Reggio Emilia- corresponded 928), tookcharge of the situationand issued manydiplomas to twelveiugera ("et perunoquoquoe manso iugera duodecim thatreconfirmed alleged rights of possession.63 Witnesses were legittimos"),and a thirdone, datingto 1170,sees themansus askedto corroborateclaims, but many institutions took advan- as 48 biolche("unusquisque mansus est quadragintaet octo tageof the chaos to snapup newprivileges. Among these was bubulcarum").71Scholars have readthese documents as proof thebishop of Cremona,who in 916, on behalfof thecity dev- ofthe confusion of medieval measurement systems and twelfth- astatedby Hungarianraids, obtained many commercial rights centurypeople's lack of clarity in that regard.72 In doingso, they in theterritory of neighboringBrescia. overlookthe fact that these documents tend to regulatetransfer We do nothave chartersexplicitly granting a Lombard ofproperty between communities using different local systems, bishopthe right to use independentmeasurement systems, but and,because some of the fields were in regions unfamiliar to the we do havea diplomadated 27 May 945 in whichKing Lothair peopleinvolved in thecontracts, an explanationwas necessary. (941-986) grantsthe church of Mantua the right to coinmoney (This was particularlyimportant for the mansus , whichseems forthat city as well as forVerona and Brescia.64The passage tohave been a genericterm to designatea surfaceunit).73 In my fromlocal currencyto local measurementunits cannot be taken eyes, then,these twelfth-century documents do notdenote a as straightforward,despite the fact that in theMiddle Ages the situationof chaos,but - on thecontrary - signalthe interest of twosystems were not perceived as completelydetached. (From theirauthors in unequivocallyidentifying a specific magnitude. Carolingiantimes, weight and monetary systems were defined Bonvesinde la Riva,almost a centurylater, espoused the together.65)Yet thiscan be seen as exemplaryof a periodin same spiritwhen he describedMilan's unitsof measurement whicheconomic regeneration was notundertaken on a large forthe sake of foreignersand theignorant.74 The terminology scale by the empirebut was insteadprompted by the cities of medievalmeasurements is pervasivethroughout the Po val- themselves. ley,with all Lombardmeasurement systems employing similar

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions terms(they pretty much all had feetand palmsas well as per- thisway, obtained control over a keyaspect of the city's build- ticeteand once) to referto differentmagnitudes, which thus ingindustry. neededthe territorial specification ("of Florence,""of Bolo- This is theonly explicit documentation of a conflictover gna") to be correctlyunderstood.75 measurementsI have found.Nonetheless, the documents are sprinkled,if not with signs of suchantagonism, then with indi- cationsof the politicalstress caused by measurements.The TheBattle for the Control of Measurement repetitionby thestatutes explicitly referring to thecommune Bergamo's firstrecord of pietre di paragone, in 1204 as thesole associationin controlof standardsreveals the stat- (citedabove), appears in the statutes of the local guildof weav- utes' ideologicalcontent. It is thusas a sign of background ers,hinting that the guildsmay have been the cradle of the difficulty(and less as a sign of triumphantleadership) that I pietredi paragone.This has beentaken to showthat the pietre read thedecision to make compulsorythe applicationof the wereproduced for utilitarian reasons and were identified above commune'sofficial seal ofthe Virgin to all standardsin Parma all withthe guilds, not the commune.76 Given the lack ofdocu- (or the seal of Virgilin Mantua).781 detecta similaranxiety mentationfor the twelfth and earlythirteenth centuries, it is behindthe appointment of thecommunal militi di giustiziato impossibleto say whetherBergamo exemplified a generalized theduty of visiting the kilns that manufactured bricks and tiles situation.But since in laterdocuments the pietre are frequently to comparethem with the standardskept by theabbot of the mentionedin thecommunal statutes, a compositeaccount that monasteryof S. Prospero.79 acknowledgesinterest in themfrom various political bodies The communes'interest in assumingpolitical control of can be developed. measurementsalso led to physicalappropriation. In an unprec- It is in fact importantto observe thatthe communes, edentedmove, as earlyas the1250s, Bologna's standardswere throughouttheir fluid history, remained heterogeneous, frag- carvedbelow the loggia of the communalpalace and noton mentedentities. The communes were forms of power that aimed the facade of the church,as was customary.80In Reggio the notat democracy(they only relaxed the structuresof power) podestàhimself had to duplicatethe pietre di paragonewithin butat maintainingthe status of the ruling elites, whatever their two monthsof his election.81(Similarly, at his investiturein compositionover time. Merchants and bankers,if particularly Parma,the podestà sworean oath to preservemeasurements successful,could join thelandowners and militaryelite in the and providefor their restoration.)82 administrationof thecommunes, but the large majority of the I have expressedmy doubtsover thedegree of success populationwas politicallyimpotent. Self-employed artisans thatthe communes achieved in takingcontrol of measurements and small-scaletradesmen thus organized themselves into (afterall, the documentationwe have was producedby the guilds( societatesartium ), groupsof mutualinterests bound communesthemselves - the dominantparties - and is there- by oathand withcommon property as well as privatemilitary forebiased). Yet the storyof thepietre di paragone cannot forces.The societatesartium often antagonized the commune, be streamlinedinto a seriesof clashes.Quite theopposite. It which,far from being a politicallycomprehensive overarch- is also a storyof identificationand mutualexchange, with the ing authority,often followed self-serving agendas. Struggles societatesthemselves accepting that they were a partof the occurredat differentlevels, and controlover the measurement communeand thecommunal statutes taking on some aspects systemwas one of them. of theinternal organizations of theguilds. One example of the antagonismover measurements Further,societates largely relied on thecommune as their betweenthe communes and thesocietates artium comes from representativewith external powers. In 1159 FrederickBar- 1164 Pisa, whenthe commune opposed the guild of stonecut- barossa(1122-1190) concededto thecommune of Astisome tersand tile makers, the "compagnias magistrorum lapidum seu royalrights including "mensure et bancatica,"those regulat- tegularum."The secondhalf of thetwelfth century saw Pisa's ingtaxation over measurement standards.83 Although the com- commercialpower in theMediterranean rise, which resulted munesreceived these rights, they, no doubt,largely benefited in a growthin architecturalprojects and unprecedentedurban theguilds. And it is thecommunes that enforced the use ofthe expansion.Strengthened by theincrease in commissions,the measurementsystem throughout the hinterland, thus homog- stonecuttersorganized themselves into a guild,which, as a enizingtrade. Bologna did so withthe statutes of 1288,when self-legislatingassociation, could raise wages and,eventually, itobliged all thecommunities of its territory to use the10-foot obtainpolitical power. The commune,meanwhile, already pertica, imposingit as theonly valid measurement system for strugglingwith other compagnie , denied the legitimacyof all commercialtransactions.84 thestonecutters' guild, accusing it of goingagainst commu- Despite incessanteffort, the medieval measurement sys- nal honor("contra communem honorem factas"). Further, it temsnever became self-legitimizing.The communes'disci- antagonizedthe guild by appropriatingan importantsource of plinarysystem reinforced people's beliefin theusefulness of a income:the approbation of theshape of bricksand rooftiles. stablemeasurement system - peopledid increasetheir aptitude These,it was decided,had to be verifiedby the commune.77 The as measuringand economic operations became faster (and prof- movewas economicbut also symbolic,since the commune, in itslarger). The systems'legal status,however, was considered

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions an emanationof communal authority.85 Indeed, once the signori seizedcontrol over the Lombard communes, attention to local measurementsystems faltered, an indicationthat the systems workedmostly as politicaltools for territorial control rather than as neutraleconomic regulators.86 In the Middle Ages, a system ofmeasurement could not be substitutedfor another in thesame way thatwe switchtoday between the metric system and the imperialor English.Measurement systems were seen to be in conflict,and that tension was a by-productof thetension between theirvalidating authorities. The historyof medievalmeasure- mentsis inscribedwithin that of politics, not economics.87 As thecommunes fashioned themselves as representatives of thepeople as a wholeand starkopponents of tyranny,they also emphasizedthe belief that measurements ultimately derive theirutility from social agreement.The pietredi paragone, publiclydisplayed and accessibleto everyone,were the physical meansby which the communes comforted the citizens with theknowledge that their government was thevery embodiment of theircollective needs. And thepeople understood.Petrus IohannisOlivi (1248-1298), who lecturedin the studiumof Sta. Croce, in Florence,about 1287-89, statedthat if every citizenemployed the same corruptedstandard, it could notbe considereda case ofcounterfeit, since it is all peopletogether, and nota superiorruler, who determinethe acceptability of a standard.88Olivi' s views wereunorthodox (his writingswere burntafter his deathand werepartially rehabilitated only with thecouncil of Vienne in 13 11-1 2), buthe didexpress communal and anti andhe used measure- antimagnate -signorepolicy, FIGURE9. Modena,southwest corner ofthe Palazzo del Comune , the Bonís- for mentsas hiscase inpoint, thus characterizing, once and all, sima,first half of the 13th century (photo: author ). measurementsas toolsof power.89

Modena's Boníssimaas Personification ofthe Just Measure All thepoints on whichwe havetouched in thisessay (the struggleover the control of standards, the establishment of pro- tectivemeasures, the concerted distribution of the public gaze, thelocation of the incisions and their immateriality) are brought to bearwhen discussing Modena' s pietredi paragone, whose abundantdocumentation makes them an exemplarycase. In Modena,the units of measurement are today carved on theapse of thecathedral (Fig. 5). This,however, is nottheir originallocation but only the end pointof a spatialtrajectory thatlasted three centuries. According to thecommunal statutes of 1327,the measurements were once carvedon a stoneset in themiddle of the square.At theend of the fifteenthcentury, thehistorian Jacopo dei Bianchi (1440-after1502) reported thatstandards were part of a ciboriummade of fourpillars, whichsupported a marbleslab toppedby a statue.90The structure- dei Bianchigoes on- was destroyedin 1468, and the supportingslab was cutinto columns for the adornment of the Campo Marzo. Onlythe statue, made of stone,was spared:it stillexists today, mounted at the corner of the communal palace FIGURE10. Groundplan of Piazza Grande, Modena , showing today's posi- (Figs. 9 and 10). tionsof the Boníssima (В)and the pietre diparagone (P).

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions FIGURE11 . FerdinandoManzini, View of Piazza Grande inthe Middle Ages, Modena, Museo di Arte Civica (photo: Museo di Arte Civica, Modena, bypermission).

as thehole in herleft hand seems to suggest.91Without mantle or veil, she is notpious or noble butis dressedas an honest citizen.She wearsa tunicand a shortvest with narrow sleeves fastenedby a crumpledsash, an outfitthat resembles that of two caryatidsin theMuseo Civico of Veronadated to 1220-30.92 Such was the importanceof this statuethat Modena' s pietredi paragone werereferred to - by synecdoche- by its name,the Bonissima.This is a vulgarizationof theexpression"bona opinione" (good judgment), the title of the officials ("illi de bonaopinione") who were in chargeof supervising the tradingprofessions and makingsure that their members con- formedto the principles of goodwill and honest trading.93 Every year,the guilds swore to honora long,meticulously worded manifesto,which, in sum,required them to respectcommon tenetsthat would guarantee commercial fairness. The Bonis- sima sculpturewas the allegoricalembodiment of theseval- ues. Not onlywas thestatue "bona," it was "bon-issima,"an attemptto verbalize,with a touchof popularirony, their ideal accomplishment.94 Apartfrom dei Bianchi's description,we do notknow what the Bonissimastructure looked like. The painterFerdinando Manzini(1817-1886) attempteda hypothetical reconstruction FIGURE12. Alessandro Tassoni, LaSecchia (Modena,1744), letter S, Rapita in his frescoView Piazza Grandein theMiddle , p.195 (photo: Biblioteca Estense, Modena, bypermission ofthe Ministero per large of Ages i BeniCulturali). todayin Modena's Museo di ArteCivica (Fig. 11). Manzini's workis expressiveof thetaste of his time,for which the evo- cationof a lively- yettending toward the miserable - popula- The statuerepresents a stoutwoman with a long braid tionand theatricaleffects were more important than historical whoseelevateci position and sympathetic smile must have been accuracy(look at thebacklit figures and the use ofarchitecture read as expressingan almost-religiousbeatitude. Sturdy and as stagewings). Manzini derived the ciborium from a previous healthy,she embodiesall thebenefits that could be enjoyed reconstruction,part of an openinginitial in the1744 editionof throughoutthe community that follows the principles for which theepic-comic poem La Secchia Rapita (Fig. 12). There,the shestands. To preventequivocation, she may have held a scale, Bonissimastatute stands on a low stagesupported by four legs,

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions as mentionedin dei Bianchi's report,which explicitly describes thehousing lots extending from the old communalpalace thecolumns as "short."Manzini must have knownthis recon- as faras theBonissima and as faras thecanal. Giuliolus structionbecause, besides reprisingall its architecturalele- Gibertidi Parmadid all thisduring his mandateas po- ments,he reproducedits location, setting it just in frontof the destàof Modena and bought the square for the benefit of southwestcorner of Modena' s communalpalace. However,he thecommune of Modena.97 stretchedthe columns in orderto makethe canopy look like the one preservingthe pietre di paragonein Verona(see Fig. 4). Thisrecord shows that about 1220 theBonissima stood on the The Veroneseciborium, or capitello, is a minimalstruc- edge ofthe square, somewhere opposite the communal palace, ture:four unadorned columns support a pyramidalcanopy. The thusfar from today's location of the pietre and from the center pietredi paragone take up mostof the lower part, running verti- ofthe square, as shownin theSecchia Rapita initial. The entry callyalong the columns and horizontally along the marble base. is also importantbecause it clearly stresses that the reposition- The inconspicuousnessof the pietre is counterbalancedby the ingof the complex was consequentialto the commune's taking architectureof thecapitello , standingsturdily in themiddle of controlof themarketplace. Piazza delle Erbe,Verona's large market square, on a three- Some fiftyyears later the Bonissimawas moved.Two stepmarble plinth. The capitellonot only supports the pietre , chroniclers- AlessandroTassoni (1488-1562), authorof La italso monumentalizesthem, highlighting their presence from a Secchia Rapita, and Bonifacio da Morano (d. 1349)- both distanceand working as thephysical pivot for the concordance reportthat on 30 April1268 theBonissima was placedin the of thecitizens' controlling gazes. squareof Modena.98(The recordoffers insight into the great Theexistence of the capitello can be securelydated only to valuethat the statue must have had in fostering an imageof eco- 1284,but it was modifiedin 1378,when Antonio and Bartolo- nomicstability, since chronicles usually report momentous bat- meodella Scala orderedthe renovation of the area.95 Indeed, the tlesand thedeaths of institutionalfigures, not the movements Gothicizinglettering of the names of the measurements, carved of decorativeelements.) Bonifacio da Moranois moreprecise at theedges of thepietre , are similarto theinscriptions found and adds thatthe Bonissima was positionednear the office of on thedella Scala familytombs, built in thesecond half of the thebona opinionecreated for its supervision. (It was also called fourteenthcentury. In anycase, thecapitello we see todayhas "officiumbullettarum," from bullare , theoperation of sealing beenmodified since. The roof,for instance, cannot be original, a standardfor its approval.) According to thestatutes of 1327, since its base is smallerthan the perimetersketched by the whichcodify current political customs, the officers were two: capitalsof thecolumns, which extend beyond the roof. These a supervisor(an officethat could only be heldby someone who musthave been designedto supporta largercovering, which was at least fortyyears old) and a notary.Their appointment probablyhad no cross,as I foundno medievalsource referring lastedsix months, and they were elected by the General Assem- to anyreligious function for the capitello. bly one monthbefore the election of thepodestà , in orderto Despitescholars' cautious acceptance, Manzini' s recon- guaranteea degreeof independence.99 structionis twice flawed.96 Itmixes the Secchia Rapita letter 5, a As was the case withother cities, officials and notaries hypotheticalrepresentation ofdei Bianchi's laconicdescription, togetheroversaw the production of butchers, bakers, wine sell- withthe much-restored Veronese capitello. A reconstructionof ers,milliners, masons, and othercommercial activities. They theModena and Veronaciboria eventually proves impossible, checkedthe bread on a weeklybasis andthe measurement tools andnot because of a lackof information but because of the tem- owned by the othervendors once everysix months.During porarynature of the supports of the pietre themselves. Because suchcontrols, the officials put a seal on themeasurement tools thepietre were often recarved because of wear, the architecture as a guaranteefor the customer,who, furthermore,reported of theirsupports was adaptedto thechanges both in people's to themany abuse to whichthey fell victim. For theirregular tasteand in thefunctions of thepiazza. Our investigationof controlsthe officials must have had theirown standards, but in thepietre then faces a structuralproblem, and it is because of case of disagreement,they had recourseto thefigures on the thiscomplication as well as (art)historians' discomfort with Bonissima. dealingwith ephemeral objects that the pietre have been mar- The statutesare consistent about the presence of measure- ginalized.Still, although we cannotfully reconstruct the visual mentsat thefeet of thesculpture: these included the braccio , evolutionof theBonissima's appearance in isolation,we can the shape fortiles and bricks,the passus , and even the size at leastprovide some basic historicalcoordinates and itsrela- forshoe soles. (I inferthey were all incised,in accordance tionshipto power. withregional praxis, even if the statutessay so onlyfor the The Bonissimacan be datedto before1220: a document foot:all theother records make use of genericterms.)100 Only describingthe reordering of the main square states that by then twotypes of measurementsseem not to havefound their place theBonissima already stood on itsperimeter. on thestructure. Because of theirvolume, complex divisions, and peculiarcurvature, standards of capacity(for both solids And at thattime, the commune of Modena acquiredthe and liquids)could noteasily be abstractedinto linear shapes, market.Its limits were defined and the same was donefor so a fewspecimens were kept in thesacristy of thecommune

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions (locateciin thecommunal tower), which, the statutes add, had to be accessibleand guardedby theofficials of thebona opinione.101Another standard that was absentfrom the feet of the Bonissimawas thepertica. It was simplytoo long and was thus incisedon thepillar of thestaircase of thecommunal palace, notfar from the other standards.102 It is likelythat it stayedin place until1495, when the monumental protruding staircase (a commonfeature of communalpalaces in northernItaly) was destroyed,a move in line withRenaissance taste, which pre- ferredsquares free of cumbersomestructures recalling com- munalpower.103 The demolitionoccurred almost thirtyyears afterthe destructionof theBonissima. On 4 July1468 theBonissima structurewas dismantledto providematerial for the columns thatwould decorate the new gardenof thelord of Modena to be createdin the Campo Marzo.104 The demolitionis confirmed bythe deliberation of the elders, who authorized the transfer of thestatue on 19 Junethe same year.105 It is particularlytelling FIGURE13. Modena, east apse of the cathedral, Medusa lunette above the thatthe Bonissima, a structuredevised in thethirteenth cen- pietrediparagone (photo: author ). turyby thecommune to enforcecommercial as well as social order,was destroyedfor the private enjoyment of thesignore offthe ground, they are stillout of reach.Their range has also ofModena. been simplifiedby omittingthe mostcommercial standards The statue,however, survived and was employedas an (such as unitsof capacity,shoe soles, and breadshapes). The advertisingsign of the officiumbollettarum , which, despite cathedralwall displaysonly the brick, the tile, the pertica , and itsquestionable efficacy (as we will see), was relocatedto the thepassus, thatis, themost formal, abstract standards whose southwestcorner of theold communalpalace. The sculpture rigoroussymmetrical arrangement betrays a decorativeintent. remainsthere today. Its only other documented movement - in The changes,however subtle, tell of the different cultural 1498- was beingrepositioned a few feet higher to makeroom climateof moderntimes. The Este familycontinued the time- fora higherceiling for the colonnade.106 honoredincision of pietre di paragone just as theyendorsed the Some scholarsbelieve thatwith the dismantlingof the communalstatutes, because they fostered an idea ofcontinuity Bonissimacomplex, the linear units of measurementappeared withthe communal spirit, containing opposition and facilitat- on theapse ofthe cathedral, where we see themtoday (see Fig. ing theirrise to power.Placing the pietre out of reach,how- 107 5). Thisis uncorroborated,however, since the earliest surviv- ever,transformed them into purely visual markersof power. ingrecord confirming their presence on theapse of theduomo The pietreare presentedto theeyes only,like a familycrest 108 datesto 1547. Whetheror not the units of measurement were decoratingthe ceilingof a privatechapel. Theirremoteness carvedthere before this date, it is unlikelythat they appeared remindsthe beholder of thedistance that separates him or her as we see themtoday: in 1527 Modena,after sixteen years of fromactual power and his or her irrelevancy in the preservation papal domination,returned to the dominionof the duchyof of thekey tools of justice. The signoremust have feltthat the Este and had to conformto the standardsused in its capital, commune'sreliance on thepopulation's controlling gazes was Ferrara.109Already in 1419the elders had deliberated recarving no longernecessary, since by the sixteenth century his authority thestandards on thebase ofthe Bonissima in orderto guarantee andjudgment were undisputed. thattrade in theModena marketconformed to theFerrarese This cultural shifthad conspicuous practical conse- measurements.110Theunits of measurement we see todayon the quences.Following the demolition of the Bonissima structure, apse ofthe duomo may not have appearedbefore 1598, when, thecity entered a phaseof metrologicalconfusion. During the withthe fall of Ferrarato Rome,Modena becamethe capital thirddecade of thesixteenth century, it sufferedfrom famine, ofthe duchy and its original measurement system was revived. and theprice of wheatskyrocketed. Tommasino dei Bianchi, The locationof thestandards on theapse was apparently son of Jacopo,commented on this decline in his chronicle deliberatelychosen. They flanked a littleMedusa in thelunette (1503-54). He was thecity's officer sopra a Vabondantia(a (Fig. 13), an apotropaicsymbol with wild eyes and hairthat euphemisticexpression indicating the supervisor for victuals) protectedthem, perhaps turning into stone whoever attempted andwas thereforedirectly involved. He remarkedexplicitly and toget closer.111 Unlike the Bonissima ciborium, whose elevated harshlyon thebehavior of manytraders (especially of cereal statue(regardless of the height of the columns) was easilyseen traders,since the price of breadwas tragicallyunstable) who andwhose standards at streetlevel eased comparison,the carv- soldtheir goods paying no heedto anysystem of measurement, ingson theduomo apse evadedcontact. At more than eight feet someof themeven mocking the idea thatsuch a measurement

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions systemever existed.112 This beliefwas perhapscaused by the thepietre generated a seriesof social ritualsthat encouraged disappearance(or thedisempowerment) of theteam of bona a sense of collectivityand eventuallywere useful in support- opinione,whose office was re-createdas an aid to thevictual ingthe communal organizations against their many opponents. supervisors'only with the 1547 statutes.113 Also, thepietre avoided corruptionby turningthe measure- Metrologicalchaos duringthe sixteenth century seems to mentsthey represented into intangible incisions. Borghini and have been a commonsituation, thus upending our traditional theintellectuals who espoused his viewdeprecated the metro- idea ofthe Middle Ages as an age ofconfusion and the Renais- logicalconfusion of the Middle Ages also becausethey had lost sanceas an age oforder. In Mantua,two edicts of 1554describe touchwith the pietre. With the fifteenth century, the carvings the standardsas so corruptedthat "the sellerscould deceive progressivelydisappeared from the urban landscape of Italian themselves."114And in Parmaa documentof 1493 reportsthat citiesas a consequenceof their declining cultural significance. it was impossibleto findone single"baker or wine selleror In Borghini's time,people conceivedof measurementsfirst butcheror millineror fishermanor merchantthat had a cor- andforemost as physicalstandards, to whichrulers throughout rectlygauged tool and that sold his goods fairly."115Some cor- Italywere resorting in orderto putan end to themetrological rectivemeasures must have been undertaken, for we knowof a confusion.In Mantua,after Giulio Romano's rebuilding of the decree(on 24 March1509) by theParmesan podestà Antonio duomo and the consequentialdestruction of the local pietre Malvicinithat ordered a check,using seals, of all measurement incisedon its facade,the ruling Gonzaga commissionedthe tools.116 sculptorBernardino Arrigoni to cast a setof bronze standards, No evidenceindicates that a similarlychaotic situation whichthey considered the sole exemplarsof correct local mea- everexisted in theMiddle Ages. The communesdevised the surements.117Borghini' s defamationmay have beenthe result pietredi paragone precisely to avoidit and thoroughly thought notof ignorancebut of blindness.Shallow incisions in stone, throughtheir system of display. The pietre spread knowledge of hardlyvisible in dim light after the destruction of a monumental thestandards by advertising them in a mainsquare, making them canopy,the pietre di paragonestood invisible under his gaze, accessibleto everyone.Far frombeing solely of use in trade, as theyhave underours for many years.

NOTES * Theauthor isgrateful toDr. Lia Apparuti ofthe Museo della Bilancia in 3. J.К. Hyde, Society and Politics inMedieval Italy: The Evolution ofCivil Campogalliano(Italy), for having helped him to obtain otherwise inac- Life,1000-1350 (London, 1973), 48-60; and D. Waley, The Italian City- cessiblepublications, and,especially, toProf. Marvin Trachtenberg, as Republics(London, 1969), 56-109. wellas Gesta's anonymous reviewers, fortheir support and a myriadof 4. V.Borghini, Discorsi , 2 vols.(Florence, 1755), 1: 133-35. onthe first drafts ofthis suggestions essay. 5. L.Pacioli, "Tractatus Geometriae," inSumma deArithmetica, Geometria, 1. Measurementsdonot appear in P. J. Jones' treatment ofItaly's commer- ProporzionietProportionalita (Venice, 1494), Distinctio 1,chap. 5, fol. cialrevolution inhis authoritative TheItalian City-State : From Commune 6v:"E benché alcuni dichino che 1600 brada quadre da panno siano uno toSignoria (Oxford, 1997). Scholars believe Italians became acquainted staioro,non è po'vero, che io lo volsi a questidi provare inquesto modo." withmeasuring only after the spread of trading practices known as mer- 6. Thebest book on the genesis of the meter isK. Alder, The Measure ofAll caturaand the diffusion ofabbaco schools. See M. Baxandall, Painting Things:The Seven-Year Odyssey and the Hidden Error That Transformed andExperience inFifteenth Century Italy: A Primer inthe Social History theWorld (New York, 2002). Also important is Paris, Musée National ofPictorial Style (Oxford, 1972), 86-102. On abbaco schools and libri di desTechniques /CNAM, L'aventure dumètre (Paris, 1989). The metric mercatura, seealso L. Travaini,Monete, Mercanti e Matematica (Rome, systemwas adopted inItaly with article 13 of the law of 27 October 1803; 2003),61-73. seeBollettino delle Leggi della Repubblica Italiana dal 1 Gennaioal 31 2. Gaetanode Sanctis' famous aphorism, "La metrologia piùche una sci- Dicembre1803 (Milan, 1803), 257-62. enzaè unincubo" (Rather than a science,metrology is a nightmare) is 7. Thefull title is Tavoledi Ragguaglio frale Nuove e le Antiche Misure e frequentlyrepeated inthe literature. See, for example, V.В anzola, "Le frai Nuovie gliAntichi Pesi della Repubblica Italiana Pubblicate per AnticheMisure Parmigiane e l'Introduzione delSistema Metrico Deci- Ordinedel Governo (Milan, 1803). This source istoday overlooked, since malenegli Stati Parmensi," Archivio Storico per le Province Parmensi , 18 scholarsemploy A. Martini, Manuale di Metrologia ossia Misure, Pesi (1966),139-78, at 139. And, even when not directly quoted, de Sanctis' e Monetein Uso Attualmente e Anticamente presso Tutti i Popoli (Turin, viewis pervasive.See J. Schulz, "Le Antiche Misure Lineari Secondo 1883,rpt. Rome, 1976). Martini's measurement listmostly draws on SebastianoSerlio e ilProblema dei Loro Valori," inLezioni di Metodo: the1803 Tavole di Ragguaglio , yet it contains many errors, sothe 1803 Studiin Onore di Lionello Puppi ,ed. L. Olivatoand G. Barbieri (Vicenza, sourceshould be consulted forreliable historical research. 2002),363-71; and B. Andreolli, "Misurare laTerra: Metrologie Altome- 8. Theintellectual Cesare Beccaria chaired the commission forthe unifica- dievali,"inUomo e Spazio nell'Alto Medioevo , 2 vols. (Spoleto, 2003), tionof the Milanese measurements afterrealizing that he could not find 1:151-88,at172-73. twoidentical trabucchi , not even in the hands óf the census officials. See

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions С.Beccaria, "Della Riduzione delle Misure diLunghezza all'Uniformità 19. StatutaCivitatis Mutine: Anno 1327 Reformata , Monumenti diStoria perlo Statodi Milano," in Elementi diEconomia Pubblica con Varii Patria:Serie degli Statuti, vol. 1, tome 2, ed. C. Campori(Parma, 1864), Opuscoli(Milan, 1822), 451. Equally active was the engineer Giuseppe 1.90-91,at76-79, and 2.10, at 230-33. The term reappears inthe statutes Cadolini,who held lectures throughout Italypromoting theadvantages of1547; see Libri Quinqué Statutorum Inclytae Civitatis Mutinae, ed. I. ofthe metric system. Among his publications, seeSulle Odierne Con- deNicolis (Modena, 1547), Book 5, rubric 149. dizionidella Metrologia Italiana: Necessità diuna Riforma e Mezzi di 20. Allpassages come from Gerbert d'Aurillac, Isagoge geometriae 2.6: Conseguirla(Milan, 1846). "linearispes est, per quem lineas vel longitudinem aliquam metimur nihil 9. Awarenessofmeasurements wasalso sparked by the 1816 discovery of interimdealtitudine vellatitudine curantes," and2.2-3: "quae ita intel- a Romanmensa ponderaria inPompei. See L. deSamuele Cagnazzi, Sui lectucapienda est," in Opera Mathematica ,ed. N. Bubnov (Berlin, 1899; Valoridelle Misure e dei Pesi degli Antichi Romani desunti dagli Origi- rpt.Hildesheim, 1963), 46-97. naliEsistenti nelReal Museo Borbonico diNapoli (Naples, 1825). Only 21. Statutidel Comune di Bolognadall'Anno 1245 all'Anno 1267, ed. L. a few,occasional metrological researches hadbeen undertaken before the Frati,3 vols. (Bologna, 1869-84), 7.147, at 2:149-54. nineteenth suchas L. DeMensuris etPonderibus Romanis century, Peto, 22. A.Lodovisi, "In Domo Bone Opinionis," inLa Bona Opinione: Cultura, etGraecis cum His Quae Hodie Romae Sunt Collatis , 5 vols.(Venice, Scienzee Misure negli Stati Estensi, 1598-1860, ed.D. Dameri, Lodovisi, 1573);and A.-J.-P. Paucton, Métrologie (Paris, 1780). andG. Luppi (Campogalliano, 1997), 21-62, at 21. 10. J.W. von Goethe, "Von deutscher Baukunst," inWerke ,vol. 12, Schriften 23. Bonvesindela Riva, De magnalibusurbis Mediolani 2.5: "Et nota quod zurKunst , zur Literatur, Maximen und Reflexionen (Hamburg, 1953), cubitus. . . duorumpedum in longum ettotidem digitorum inlatum . . . 7-15,at 8: "Hättest du[, Italian connoisseur,] mehr gefühlt alsgemessen, longitudinemcontingut." wäreder Geist der Massen über dich dirdu du gekommen, anstauntest, 24. L. GliUmiliati nei Loro con l'Industriadella hättestnicht so nur weilsie' s tatenund es schön ist." On the Zanoni, Rapporti l'Eresia, nachgehamt, Lanaed i Comuninei Secoli XII e XIIIsulla Scorta di Documenti Inediti Romanticfascination with cathedrals, seeE. Castelnuovo,"IlFantasma (Rome,1970), 236-38. Zanoni' s remarks at217 on the relation between dellaCattedrale," inII Medioevoal Passato e al Presente, Arti e Storia thecommune and the Umiliati are also useful. nelMedioevo, 4,ed. Castelnuovo andG. Sergi (Turin, 2004), 3-29, at 3. 25. J. TheIdea a Town:The UrbanForm in 11. P. TheGothic : Sourcesand Rykwert, of Anthropologyof Frankl, Literary Interpretationsthrough Eight Rome,Italy, and the Ancient World (London, 1976), 107. Centuries(Princeton, 1960), 442-88; K. Clark,The Gothic Revival: An "LaTavola delle Unità di Misura nel Mercato di inthe History ofTaste (London, 1928), 50-75; and M. McCarthy, 26. G.Ioppolo, Augusteo Essay di 5 89-98.Less The theGothic Revival (New Haven, 1987). The influential art LeptisMagna," Quaderni Archeologia Libia, (1967), Originsof slabwhose criticPietro Selvatico Estense, for instance, inhis 1856 lec- knownbut equally important isthe Thibilis-Announa inscrip- introductory tion statesits utilitarian function. Thetwo most famous ture,reproduced Goethe's essay almost point for point, more than eighty explicitly antique afterits first SeeP. "Prelusioneal Corso di measurementreliefs (in Oxford's Ashmolean Museum and Piraeus' Ar- years publication. Selvatico, ratherthan measurements StoriaArchitettonica," inScritti d'Arte (Florence, 1859), 298-99. chaeologicalMuseum) represent, reproduce, andwere used for advertisement ratherthan actual comparisons. SeeB. 12. J.R. Woodhouse, "Towards a Revival ofBorghini Scholarship: AReview Slapsak,"The 302mm Foot Measure on Salamis," Dialogues d'histoire Artide,"Modem Language Review, 95/1 (January 2000), 85-91. ancienne,19/2 (1993), 119-36; and E. Fernie,"The Greek Metrological 13. E.Fernie, "Pegolotti's Cloth Lengths," inThe Vanishing Past: Studies of Reliefin Oxford," Antiquaries Journal, 61 (1981),255-63. For good MedievalArt , Liturgy and Metrology Presented toChristopher Hohler , picturesofall the reliefs, including the Leptis Magna slab, see M. W. BARInternational, 3,ed. A. Borgand A. Martindale(Oxford, 1981), Jones,"Doric Measure and Architectural Design 1: The Evidence ofthe 13-28. Relieffrom Salamis," AJA , 104/1 (January 2000), 73-93. 14. O. Reguin,"La réformedes mesures d'Arles en 1406:Retour vers le 27. E.Guidoni, Storia dell'Urbanistica: IlDuecento (Rome-Bari, 1989), 368. chaos,"Memini , 11 (2007), 133-48; and idem, "Les étranges mesures 28. StatutaCommunis Parma, vol. 2, Statuta 1266, ed. A. Ronchini (Parma, agrairesdu Faucigny etMonsieur deLa Poixde Fréminville," Cahiers 1856-60),75: "Praedictum veropassum . . . debeatsemper stare ferratum demétrologie , 22-23 (2004-5), 43-54. etbullatum, etteneri ubi et sicut videbitur Potestati, Capitaneo, Ancianis 15. J.Heers, Espaces publics, espaces privés dans la ville: Le Liber Termino- etaliis. Ponatur intali loco quod possit haberi inde copia, et esse testi- veldubietas rumde Bologne (Paris, 1984); and F. Bocchi, Bologna ,vol. 2, Il Duecento moniumquociens et quando in hoc fuerit aliqua quaestio, (Bologna,1995-96), 47-48, 97-98, and 104-5. eriretur." 16. E. Casari,"Osservazioni sulla Planimetria delDuomo di Modena: Lan- 29. M. Welber,I Sigilli nella Storia del Diritto Medievale Italiano, Sigil- Il nella nel nella 3 franco,i Quadrati, le inLanfranco e Wiligelmo: Il Duomo lografia:Sigillo Diplomazia,Diritto, Storia,nell'Arte, Diagonali," 190. diModena , ed. E. Castelnuovo,V.Fumagalli, A. Peroni, and S. Settis (Milan,1984), (Modena,1984), 223-27. 30. Quotedfrom Andreolli, "Misurare la Terra," 182. For its context, seeС. Middle 17. OnAristotle's for seeS. "Measurement Raddingand A. Ciaralli,The Corpus Iuris Civilis in the Ages: disregardmeasurements, Drake, andTransmission theSixth tothe Juristic inGalileo's Science," History of Technology, 5 (1980), 39-54. Plato Manuscripts from Century Revival(Leiden, 2007), 67-68. is slightlymore eloquent. Inhis Timaeus 35a-c, he describes God as measuringthequantity ofBeing before generating creatures with a dif- 31. U.Tucci, "Pesi e Misurenella Storia della Società," in Storia d'Italia, ferentamount accorded each. Besides metaphysics, healso touches on 5/1,1Documenti, ed.R. Romano and C. Vivani(Tiirin, 1973), 581-612, measurementsontwo other occasions. Inthe Laws 746e, he advocates the at595. standardizationofall weights and measures asa sourceof social justice, 32. InReggio Emilia the standards arecalled "tabelle" of"moduli." Itis hard whilein the Politics 283d-84d, heintroduces theprinciple ofthe mean, tosee, however, whether these referred tocarvings orphysical standards. namely,that the arts as well as politics should search for the just propor- Quotedfrom Guidoni, Il Duecento, 373. tion,which guarantees virtue. However, both discussions areshort. See 33. Campori,Statuta Mutine 1327, 2.37, at 251-53: "Passus incisus inpetra A.E. Taylor, Plato: The Man and His Work (London, 1926), 399 and 479. Bonissimefirmus permaneat itaquod non minuatur," and2.33, at 249-50: 18. G.M. Cantarella, Pasquale II e ilSuo Tempo (Naples, 1997), 170-71. "admodum antiquum designatum inpetra Bonissime."

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 34. OnModena, see ibid., 1.89-90, at 74-78; on Bologna, see Bocchi, Bolo- 49. M. Trachtenberg,Dominion ofthe Eye : Urbanism,Art, and Power in gnei,2:16 and 50; on Padua, see S. Bortolami,"La Cittàdel Santo e del EarlyModern Florence (Cambridge, MA, 1997), 232-41. Tiranno:Padova nel Primo Duecento," inSant'Antonio , 1231-1981: Il 50. D. Friedman,Florentine New Towns: Urban Design in the Late Middle SuoTempo, ilSuo Culto e la Sua Città (Padua, 1981), 244-61, at 252-53. Ages(Cambridge, MA, 1988), 212-13. 35. Consuetudinie Statuti Reggiani del Secolo XIII, Corpus Statutorum Itali- 51. M.Visioli, "La PiazzaMaggiore dal Medioevo all'Età Modena," inII corum,16, ed. A. Cerlini (Milan, 1955), Consuetudini 1242, 13, at 9-10: PalazzoComunale diCremona: L'Edificio, la Storia delle Istituzioni, le "Statuimusquod potestas Regii teneatur etdebeat mercatum indie sabbati Collezioni,ed.A. Foglia (Cremona, 2006), 17-57, at 22. facerecustodio, nepannus falsus pilis bovis asine canipe vel alterius ge- 52. Quotedfrom E. Guidoni,"Appunti peruna Storia dell'Urbanistica nella nerisfalsitatis ibiportetur velvendatur; etsi alicui inventus fuerit pannus LombardiaTardo-Medievale," inLombardia: Il Territorio, l'Ambiente, falsusin с soldirexan. puntiatur etpannum perdat." il Paesaggio,vol. 1, Dalle Incisioni Rupestri alla Sintesi Leonardesca, 36. A. Thompson,Cities of God: The Religion of the Italian Communes, ed.C. Piovano(Milan, 1981), 109-62, at 152. 1125-1325(University Park, PA, 2005), 94. Thompson interprets "fra- 53. Byway of chronological comparison, I should mention thefoot "sculpted" ters"as referringtolay ascetics {penitenti ). His interpretation is not, inthe base of a columnin St. Paul's Cathedral, London, which is first however,universally accepted. Measurement checkers inBologna, for documentedinthe 1 1 80s. See P. Grierson, English Linear Measures: An instance,arealso "fraters." YetFrancesca Bocchi has taken the expres- Essayin Origins, The Stenton Lecture, 1971 (Reading, 1972), 18-19. sionto refer to Franciscans. See vol. Da Felsina Bocchi,Bologna , 1, 54. MaestroTolosano, Chronicon Faventinum, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores: a Bononia:Dalle al XIISecolo , 50. For the statutes, see Frati, Origini Raccoltadegli Storici Italiani dal Cinquecento alMillecinquecento, 121, StatutiBologna, 7.147, at 2:153: "et ordinamus quod potestas bon. infra ed.G. Rossini 114. iiimenses ab sui teneaturfacere modum (Bologna,1936), ingressuregiminis inquiri lapi- 55. Thechurch is first mentioned in1 143. See P "LaCattedrale Pa- dumet cupporum perfratres penitentie etvideri diligenter etinterrogan Porta, si et modofiunt, sunt erosi et et admodum leocristiananelle Fonti Storico-Monumentali," inFaenza: La Basilica lapides cupi,qui ampli lingi ed.A. Savioli at15. designatumsubvoltis comunis." Cattedrale, (Florence,1988), 13-25, 56. L. "LeAntiche Misure sullaFronte diS. Maria 37. Ronchini,Statuta Parmae, vol. 1, Statuta 1255, 157. Angelini, Segnate Mag- giorein Bergamo," Atti dell'Ateneo diScienze Lettere eArti di Bergamo, 38. Ronchini,Statuta 1266, 71-72. 28 (1953-54),103-8, at 104.The original texts read: "omneš parietes 39. Weiber,/Sigilli, 67. debeantamuelari adparietem antiquam quae est super rezzios [main door] "in MarieMaioris 40. Ibid.,198-219. Goffredus ofTrani takes the division between private selciatieccl. S. MariaeMaioris" and muroeccl. S. in andpublic documents from Bernard ofPavia' s Summa. The theorization propeparietem textorum signatam ipso muro." wasnot limited tocanon law, as theSpeculum iudiciale by Guglielmus 57. Forexamples, on Ravenna, see Statuto del Secolo XIII del Comune Durandreveals. diRavenna, ed. A. Zoliand S. Bernicoli(Ravenna, 1904), norms 273 41. TheItalian 59-64.See alsoJ. H. "In and297, at 121-22 and 138; on Brescia, see F. Spinelli, Gli Statuti del Waley, City-Republics, Mundy, Comunee delle dellaBrescia Medievale: Alle Radici Praiseof Italy: The Italian Republics," Speculum, 64(1989), 815-34, at Corporazioni 826. dell'UmanesimoCivile e delRazionalismo Economico (Brescia, 1997), norms128 and 568; and on Mantua, see С. d'Arco,Della Economia 42. Ronchini,Statuta 1266, 75. Politicadel Municipio diMantova e' Tempi in cui si Reggeva a Repub- 43. Ibid.,71-72: "quilibet possit accusare contrafacientes, ethaveat medieta- blica(Mantua, 1842), 341-43: "mensurare adperticam pedis Ariprandi tembanni," 2:73: "quilibet possit accusare, ethabeat medietatem banni," quipes et eius forma fiat in porta Sancti Petri et Sancti Andree expensis and2:75: "et quilibet possit accusare, ethabeat medietatem banni." For CommunisMantue inlapide vivo, si factum non est." a similarcase in Bologna, see Statuti diBologna dell'Anno 1288, ed. G. 58. Diplomataregum Germaniae exstirpe Karolinorum, 2,Karoli III diplo- Fasoliand P. Sella, 2 vols.(Vatican City, 1937-39), 9.17, at 2:121. mata,MGH, 2 vols.(Berlin, 1937), 2 (year887): 277. 44. SalimbenedeAdam, Cronica, ed. G. Scalia, 3 vols.(Bari, 1966), 3:888: 59. L. Savioli,Annali Bolognesi (Bassano, 1784), 1.2, at 56 п. 32. "Inqua [ecclesia] qualibet die missam audiebat ettotum diurnum offitium 60. Ibid.,1.2, at 67-68 п. 31. nocturnum inecclesiastico atque temporibusoportunis. Et,tempore quo 61. A 918contract for the rent of two housesis thefirst docu- offitio nonerat, sedebat cum vicinis suis sub communi Bolognese occupatus porticu ment the oflinear units of measurement toland; iuxtapalatium episcopi etloquebatur deDeo vel loquentem deDeo au- recordingapplication seeG. Cencetti, LeCarte delSecolo Decimo 1936), diebatlibenter. Non patiebatur quod aliquis puer prohiberet lapides contra Bolognesi (Bologna, velcontra maiorem ad destruendumcelaturas 84п. 25.The two houses are said to measure 30by 31 and 32 by 25 1/2 baptisterium ecclesiam, feet.Yet it is not clear whether these referred to medievalfoot etpicturas. Quod cum videret . . . ac si procustodia deputatus fuisset Bologna's ibidem." of38 cm or the Roman foot of 29.6 cm because both measurements were usedat the time. For instance, a portion ofa wallof Bologna's imperial 45. Theseobservations areinspired byP. Joyce, The Rule of Freedom: Liber- fortress,built in the tenth century and demolished in1 1 15, seems to have alismand the Modern City (London, 2003); and M. Foucault, Discipline beenbuilt following a module of 10 Roman feet; see Bocchi, Bologna, andPunish: The Birth of the Prison (London, 1979), 200-204. 2:73.(She also reports the 918 contract at2:62.) 46. Quotedin Guidoni, Il Duecento , 376. 62. G.Tabacco, Egemonie Sociali e StrutturedelPotere nel Medioevo Ita- 47. R.Bacon, Perspectiva 1.10. 1 : "Sciendumigitur quod quando hec novem liano(Turin, 1974; rpt. Turin, 2000), 189. nonegrediuntur temperamentům, scilicetпес excellunt пес diminuuntur, 63. К. FischerDrew, "The Immunity inCarolingian Italy," Speculum, 37/2 tuncfit visus certificatus." Forthe date of Bacon's seeD. C. at192. " Perspectiva," (April1962), 182-97, Lindberg,Roger Bacon and the Origins of Perspectivainthe Middle 64. L. Schiaparelli,I Diplomi di Ugo,Lotario, Berengario II e Adalberto Ages(Oxford, 1996), xxiii. On vision and certainty, seeG. Simon, Ar- (Rome,1924), 1:250. See alsoFischer Drew, "Immunity," 195.The chéologiede la vision:L'optique, le corps, la peinture(Paris, 2003), rightto mint was originally conceded by King Berengar I in 894, but 125-30. Veronaand Brescia were included only after King Lothar' s 945 territo- 48. K.H. Tachau, Vision and Certitude inthe Age of Ockham: Optics, Epis- rialexpansion. The right was granted tothe bishop, but citizens were temologyandthe Foundations ofSemantics, 1250-1345 (Leiden, 1988), involvedinrunning themint, and they eventually claimed rights ofcon- xviand 78-80. suetude.See R. S al varani, "La Struttura Territoriale delleDiocesi in Italia

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SettentrionaleinEtà Carolingia: Il Caso di Mantova,"inAlle Origni 79. Quotedfrom Guidoni, Il Duecento, 373. delRomanico: Monasteri , Edifici Religiosi , Committenza traStoria e 80. Frati,Statuti Bologna, 7.147, at 2:153: "lapides etcuppi, qui modo fiunt Archeologia(Italia Settentrionale , Secoli IX-X), Studi e Documenti,3, ... admodum designatum subvoltis comunis." Another mention isibid., ed.Salvarani, G.Andenna, and G. P. Brogiolo (Brescia, 2005), 31-57, at 1.27,at 1:189: "staro et sadio lapideo sive marmoreo comunis, qui est 46-47. solitusesse sub voltis palatii veteris comunis." 65. H. A. Miskimin,"Two Reforms ofCharlemagne? Weights and Mea- 81. Thestatutes ofReggio of 1268, quoted from Guidoni, Il Duecento, 31в, suresin the Middle Ages," Economic History Review , 20/1 (April 1967), saythat within two months ofhis election, the podestà must provide a 35-52. plate,probably instone, with the size of the tile and two types of bricks, 66. DiplomatůmRegum et Imperatorum Germaniae, 2, Ottonis II, MGH whosestandards areusually preserved bythe abbot of S. Prospero. (Hannover,1888), 636-37 n. 223. 82. Ronchini,Statuta 1266, 75. 67. Theexpression "mensura legitima" appears in a diplomasigned on 20 83. FredericiI Diplomata, MGH, 10/2 (Hannover, 1797), 65. See G. An- April962 by Otto I in Pavia. See "Otto bestätigt derbischöflichen Kirche denna,"Il Monastero e l'Evoluzione Urbanistica diBrescia tra XI e XII zuReggio alle Besitzungen undBesitztitel, dieImmunität, desInquisitions- Secolo,"in Santa Giulia di Brescia:Archeologia, Arte, Storia di un privilegiumundandere Vorrechte," inDiplomata Regum etImperatorum MonasteroRegio dai Longobardi al Barbarossa , ed. C. Stellaand G. Germaniae, 1,Otto I, MGH (Hannover, 1879), 343-46 n. 242. "Mensu- Brentegani(Brescia, 1992), 93-1 18, at 98. ramiustam" appears in another diploma dated 15 Feburary 952; ibid., 84. Fasoliand Statuti at2:121. 225-26n. 145. Sella, Bologna1288, 9.17, 85. itis well known, isa term Foucault 68. Thedistinction is made clear two 883and "In "Discipline," employedby (Discipline by diplomas(of 925): andPunish, 215-24) to identify a series of processes for the ordering of quibuscumquepatriis ac provintiis regni nostri . . . esset"and "in qui- humansand their actions. For isthe ac nostri" forboth Foucault,however, discipline product buscumquepatriis provinciisregni (myemphasis), ofmodernity andshould not be applied, inthe full sense of the term, to ofwhich see Medie Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, ed. J. F. and Niermeyer theMiddle Ages. C. vande Kieft, 2 vols. (Leiden, 2002), 2:1007-8. In the Middle Ages, referredtothe native hamlet, or After 86. Onthe subordination ofcountry totown, see Jones, The Italian City-State, patria village,township, province. 161-63. theterm was used in the Digest , in the twelfth century, itwas commonly usedto mean "fatherland" regardless ofgeographic size. See also E. H. 87. Forinstance, conflicts between the leaders of the popolo and the duke Kantorowicz,TheKing's Two Bodies: A Studyin Medieval Political ofModena over measurements aredescribed inDameri, Lodovisi, and Theology(Princeton, 1957), 232-36. Luppi,La BonaOpinione, 22-23. 69. The1 162 collection ofstatutes known asBreve Consulum seems to indi- 88. PetrusIohannis Olivi, Quodlibeta Quinqué, ed. S. Defraia(Grottaferrata, catethat Pisa's system ofmeasurements wasold. See F. Bonaini, Statuti 2002),5.12, at 326: "Sed forte non peccat mortaliter quando est corruptio Ineditidella Città di Pisa dal XII al XIVSecolo (Florence, 1854), 1 :1 1 : communis,quia satis ex hoc data est ratio quod huius modi corruptio "Antekalendas aprilis, duos de capitaneis murorum magistris iurare fa- omnibusinnotescat. Si vero omneš, tam domestii quam forenses, com- riam,ut pisanae civitatis murorum magistros capitaneos iurare faciant, munitersciunt quantitatem ponderum etmensuram quanunc post factam neturrium Pisanorum aliquam supra mensuram antiquitus constituíam corruptionem,utuntur, tune non cadit fraus vel falsitas inmensuris" and studioseaedificent, velaedificare faciant. Ita quod, si ad iuramentum "anscienter utens corruptis ponderibus velmesuris, non per superiorem faciendumeoscompellere non potuerint, Consulibus idvel Consuli re- sedper plebeios in tota urbe communiter introductis, peccet mortaliter." nuntient:quorenuntiato, infaciendo iuramento eisauxilium porrigam." Fora presentationofPetrus' thought, seePietro diGiovanni Olivi, Usure, delXIII ed.A. 70. InMantua, the first mention ofa localmeasurement system dates to 1055. Comperee Vendite: La ScienzaEconomica Secolo, Spic- P. andG. Andenna A documentregarding a field of Beatrix of Canossa, quoted in d'Arco, ciani, Vian, (Milan,1990). DellaEconomia Politica , 344, reads: "Id est nominative terras arabiles 89. Anti-signore policy was common toward the end of the thirteenth century. iurisipse domne Beatricis inloco qui vocabatur prato longo, a pertica Perhapsthe best example of this resistance can be found in Ambrogio legitimade pedibusduodecim a pede Liprandi mensurata." The same Lorenzetti'sfresco inSiena's Palazzo Pubblico. See N. Rubinstein, "Po- definitionisrepeated ina documentof1068. liticalIdeas in Sienese Art: The Frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti and 71. Andreolli,"Misurare la Terra," 173. Taddeodi Bartolo in the Palazzo Pubblico," JWCI, 21 (1958), 179-207, at185. 72. Ibid.,152-53. 90. J.dei Bianchi, Cronaca Modenese, Monumenti di Storia Patria delle 73. InRoman times, the word modus indicated thesame: a "measured quan- ProvinceModenesi, 1,Serie delle Cronache, ed.C. Borghi (Parma, 1861), a "definedarea." See B. Campbell, The Writings ofthe Roman Land tity," 1.6,entry for 4 July1468: "era in su uno quadro grande e grosso di mal- Surveyors:Introduction , Text, Translation andCommentary , Journal of morein sui quatro colonele basse." RomanStudies Monograph, 9 (London, 2000), "modus" inthe glossary. 91 . Thestatue would then be an ofJustice. For a miniature 74. Bonvesindela De urbis 4.11: "et ne allegory example, Riva, magnalibus Mediolani, quis thefourth ofthe Monte Cassino book dubitet noverit modius preceding Gospel Gospel presented quidquantitatis intelligatur permodium, quia II in1022 or 1023 Justiceasa woman a scale mensuraestocto sextarios nos etest unius viri byHenry pictures holding apud continens, ponderatio withone hand. The ofJustice as a womanwith a scale Inthe Bonvesinexplicitly defines his readership asone representation gravis." prologue, returnsalso in a dialogue,the Quaestiones deiuris subtilitatibus offoreigners andthe ignorant. legal writtenbyPlacentinus (d. 1 192), the leading lawyer of the twelfth cen- listsmeasurements as de- 75. Gerbert,Isagoge geometriae, 3, proportions, tury.Inthe prologue, Placentinus recalls the Templům Iustitiae, a shrine privedof any specific value. thatthe Bonissima complex may allude to. See Kantorowicz, TheKing 's 76. Angelini,"Le Antiche Misure," 104. TwoBodies, 107-9. 77. G.Volpe, "Studi sulle Istituzioni Comunali a Pisa, Città e Contado, Con- 92. Onthe caryatids, see F. T. Lang, Veroneser Skulpturen um1200, Eu- solie Podestà:Secoli XII-XIII," Annali della R. Scuola Normale Supe- ropäischeHochschulschriften, 28/146(Frankfurt amMain, 1992), 53-61. rioredi Pisa, 5 (1902),250 n. 3. I findsome of its features comparable tothe sculptures decorating the 78. Ronchini,Statuta 1266, 71-72. For Mantua, see Bonaccolsi Statutes, Parmabaptistery, suchas thequeen of Sheba (for the oblong face) and 5.5:"et deputatus admaleficia . . . bullari[faciat] ad sculpturam Virgili theallegory ofSpring as wellas Mary'smaiden (for the outfit). See W. perpetuoduraturam." Sauerländer,"Benedetto Antelami: Perun Bilancio Critico," inBenedetto

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Antelamie ilBattistero diParma , ed. C. Frugoni(Turin, 1995), 3-69, at pensapañis et vini observari debeat etteneri per illos de bona opinione in 51-52. dandismensuris etpensis et habeant dicti officiates dictum modum exem- 93. InModena' s 1327 statutes, allmentions ofthe "bona opinione" refer to platumetautenticatum etsemper sit in sacrestia Comunis." The sacristy theoffice. See, for instance, the oath of the butchers (Campori, Statuta alsoheld six copper mine, units of capacity (ibid., 1.91, at 78-79). The Modena, 2.1, at 28): "Teneatur potestas facere jurare omnes becharios et profilesand dimensions ofthe containers could instead be found on the carnesvendentes . . . quod vendent etfacient carnes bovinas etporcinas et baseof the Bonissima; see ibid., 1.90, at 76: "Et omnes et singule mine cavinasad staderiametad sibidatum a Comuni etab illis debiado et de sale et cum quibus mensurabitur bladum vel sal sint et esse justam" pondus debona opinione or that of the bakers (ibid., 2.3, at 222): "Statuerunt debeanteiusdem latitudinis a parte superiori scilicet facte ad latitudinem quodPotestas teneatur primo mense rui regiminis facere jurare omnes pis- designataminlapide Bonissime, etsumatur sive sazetur ipsa mina ex- toresmásculos etfaminas quod facient panem de frumento bene mundo traoredellum mine nec aliter bullentur." In 1547 the measurements for etbene coctum ad pensam eis datam pro Comuni et quod observabunt volumewere still owned by the officials ofthe bona opinione. See De preceptaillorum debona opinione inhiis que ad eorum offitium spectant." Nicolis,Libri Quinqui Statutorum, 5.7,at fol. 102v. Manyother cases may be cited. On the Bonissima, seealso F. Bocchi, M. 102.Campori, Statuta Modena , 1.92, at 79: "Pertica rationis sitet esse debeat Ghizzoni,and R. Smurra, Storia delle Città Italiane: Dal Tardoanticoal admagnitudinem etlongitudinem designatam inpilastro scalarum palacii PrimoRinascimento (Turin, 2002), 228. Comunisetsit essere debeat ferrata a quolibet capite et bollata cum bullo 94. Anotherreading presents the term bonissima as derivingfrom "Bo- Comunis." nèsma,"which means "buona stima" (good judgment). The linguistic 103.This can be inferred from an entry (Saturday, 17December 1530) by the transformationis notvery clear, but, even if this possibility were true, chroniclerTommasino deiBianchi: "Fu levato de piaza doe scale grande itwould not invalidate my point. See G. Bertoni and E. P.Vicini, "La cheandavano inpalazo quale occupavano la piaza et fu bela opera, e fu Bonissima,"Studi e Documenti , 5/1 (March 1941), 1-13, at 1 1. del'anno 1495." See T. dei Bianchi, Cronaca Modenese , Monumenti di StoriaPatria delle 4 95. Itis dated to 1284 because a document ofthat year reminds the - ProvinceModenesi: Serie delle Cronache, (Parma, "portiti 172. oribusvini" to bring water tothe fountain ofthe capitello. See T. Lenotti, 1865), PiazzaErbe (Verona, 1954), 66. Girolamo della Corte, a sixteenth-cen- 104. J. dei Bianchi, Cronaca Modenese , 1.6: "1468, adì 4 luio:Fu tolto via turychronicler, thinks that the capitello should be dated to 1207, but this la Bonissimadesu la piaza,et era in su uno quadro grando e grosso di isunsure, ashe sometimes mistakes itfor the tribune, which also stands malmoreinsu quatro colonele basse, e fu posta in el muro del palazo de inthe square. For a generaloverview ofVerona's medieval market and Modenasopra a le bolete,e del quadro dove era posta suxo, ne fu fatto thedella Scala restoration, seeA. di Lieto, "Una Piazza Comunale e Scali- colonellee messe in el zardin del Signor inModena, e prima quello logo gera:Piazza delle Erbe," in Gli Scaligeri, 1277-1387 ,ed. G. M. Varanini dovefu fatto dito Zardino si sechiamava Campo marzo, e chiamavase (Verona,1988), 245-54. On the capitello , see L. Simeoni,Verona: Guida Campomarzo, perchè quando sivoleva amazzare uncavallo о altra bestia Storico-ArtisticadellaCittà e Provincia (Verona, 1909), 4. peraver la pelle,о canisi andava in quel logo e lìmarciva." 96. O.Baracchi, Modena Piazza Grande (Modena, 1981), 27; and G. Guan- 105.Modena, Archivio Storico Comunale, Registri delle Deliberazioni Con- dalini,Il PalazzoComunale diModena : Le Sedi,la Città,il Contado siliari,vacchétta 51,year 1468 (session of 19 June), fol. 59r. (Modena,1985), 48-49. 106.Bertoni and Vicini, "La Bonissima," 7-8. The authors also record that 97. JohannesdeBazano, Chronicon Mutinense ,Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, thebase on which itstands today was replaced in1825. On the employ- 15,ed. L. A. Muratori(Milan, 1729), cols. 555-638, at 559: "Et dicto mentof statues as"posters instone," see W. Sauerländer, "Romanesque temporeMercatum em[p] tum fuit a CommuniMutinae, etMercatum SculptureinIts Architectural Context," inRomanesque Art: Problems ibiordinatum fuit,et domos, quae sunt a Palatio veteri communis usque andMonuments , 2 vols. (London, 2004), 2:1-35, at 2-3. adBonissimam etusque ad canale[m], suo tempore [Gilioli Giberti di 107.Daveri, Lodovisi, and Luppi, La BonaOpinione , 54 n. 2. Mutinaeemit communiMutinae." Parma]potestas pro 108.On the pertica , see De Nicolis,Libri Quinqué Statutorum, 5.14, at fol. 98. Bonifacioda Morano:"Dicto tempore die ultimo Aprilis erecta fuit 11 lv: "pertica rationis sitet esse debeat ad longitudinem perticae rationis Bonissimainstatua marmorea inplateis civitatis Mutine, ante offitium insculptaeinpariete ecclesiae cathedralis Mutinae"; on the passus, see bulettarum."Alessandro Tassoni: "Eodem anno die ultimo Aprilis erecta ibid.,5.15, at 1 1 lv: "passus sit et esse debeat aius longitudinis cuius est fuitstatua marmorea Bonissimae inplateis civitatis Mutinae." Both pas- passusinsculpturs inpariete ecclesiae cathedralis Mutinae etbrachium sagescan be found inCronache Modenesi diA. Tassoni, diG. Bassano e essedebeat dimidium dicti passus communis." diB. da Morano Monumenti diStoria Patria leProvince , per Modenesi, 109.The oscillating relationship between Modena and Ferrara started in1289, ed.L. T. andO. Raselli 15, Vischi,Sandonnini, (Modena,1888), 70. See whenthe Modenese noblemen called on the Este family ofFerrara as a alsoBertoni and "La 3. Vicini, Bonissima," wayof resisting theexcessive democratization oftheir city. The depen- 99. Theduties and requirements ofthe officials ofthe bona opinione are denceended in 1306, but in 1336 the Estes were officially recognized describedinCampori, Statuta Modena , 1.90-91, at 76-79. as lordsof Modena. Throughout thefourteenth andfifteenth centuries, 100.For the braccio , see Campori, Statuta Modena , 4.177, at 479: "Ad bra- Modenaenjoyed a certain degree of autonomy, andMarco Folin defines chiumcomunis quod est in lapide Bonissime inplatea Comunis"; forthe theEstense state as a "politicalsystem ofstates." See Folin, Rinascimento tilesand bricks, see ibid., 2.8, at 229n: "Et quia lapides seu quadreli et Estense:Politica, Cultura, Istituzioni diun Antico Stato Italiano (Bari- cupiconsueverunt fierimaioris amplitudinis, grossitudinis etlongitudinis Rome,2001), 50-68. See alsoL. Marini,Per una Storia dello Stato quamnunc fiant prout evidenter apparet exlapidibus etcuppis antiquis et Estense(Bologna, 1973), 19-25; and G. Panini, La FamigliaEstense da etiamin modo et forma ipsorum lapidum etcuporum existente inlapide Ferraraa Modena (Modena, 1996), 13-14 and 68-71. Bonissimeexistente inplatea"; for the passus , see ibid., 2.37, at 25 1 : "Pas- 110.Modena, Archivio Storico Comunal, Registri delle Deliberazioni Con- susincisus inpetra Bonissime firmus permaneat itaquod non minuatur"; siliari,Vacchetta della Comunità, year 1419. See also Baracchi, Piazza andfor shoe soles, ibid., 2.33, at 249: "Debeant admodum antiquum de- Grande,43-44. signatuminpetra Bonissime calzolarii etcalegarii designare incoramine 111.The Medusa head (or erotus) was a customarydecoration forsarcophagi etmaxime incroppis etad ipsum modum vendere solas tantum." inRoman times, and many local specimens cantoday be found inModena 101.In the sacristy you could find the "mod[i]us" for wine or bread as de- andFerrara' s Lapidari, inBrescia's Museo di Santa Giulia, and in Pavia' s scribedinibid., 2.5, at 225: "Modus qui est in sacrestia Comunis super MuseoCivico. For the apotropaic functions ofanimal and Medusa heads

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.210 on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:13:16 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions inthe Middle Ages, see M. Camille, Images on the Edge: The Margins 115.A. Pezzana, Storia della Città di Parma ,5 vols.(Parma, 1837-59), 5:210: ofMedieval Art (London, 1992), 72. "Unsolo de' fornaciai, de'tavernieri, de'beccai, de' mugnai, de' pesca- 112. The entry for 17 December, inT. dei Bianchi, Cronaca Modenese , 170, tori,de' rivenditori nostri, che tenesse misura e bilance giuste, ne' che il reads:"parte ge ne deteno a pexo e partenon volseno che el sepesasse, giustovendesse a' compratori." dicendoche innovatione eraquesta de pesare el frumento,chemai non 116.U. Benassi, Storia di Parma: 1501-1534 , 5 vols.(Parma, 1899-1906), fuolduto ne veduto in Modena questa sutiglieza dequesto pesare, e di 1:174-75.On the history ofmeasurements inParma, see Banzola, "Le piùfu io reprexe infra lialtri da M. Lodovigo Belencino alpresente capo AnticheMisure Parmigiane." Cf.the case of Ferrara, inwhich itseems deliSig.ri Conservatori cheio nonvolese introdure questa usanza in thatthe whole organizational structure andeconomic controls between Modenada pesare el frumentocheel nonmi seria comportato, etio ge thefifteenth andthe early sixteenth century ran efficiently; seeG. Guer- respoxeche la justitia lo voleva,perchè se li fornarihano a dareel suo zoni,"La Camera Ducale Estense tra Quattro e Cinquecento: LaStruttura dovereala republica delpan che sia ala pesa, el bisogna che lori habiano Organizzativae i Meccanismi Operativi," inStoria di Ferrara , voi. 6, Il elfrumento detal pesa che ge rovano lafarina da fare el pan, altramente Rinascimento:Situazioni e Personaggi, ed.A. Prosperi (Ferrara, 2000), geforze inganare chicompra elpan, e faciandoa questo modo ogni homo 160-83. hael suo dovere." 117.In Mantua, the Liutprandus footwas once visible on the facades of the 113. Daveri, Lodovisi, and Luppi, La BonaOpinione , 23. cathedral,S. Pietro, and S. Andrea(the statutes report: "inporta sancti Pe- 114. R. Navarrini, "I Pesi e leMisure a Mantova inAntico Regime," inI Gon- triet Sancti Andree ... inlapide vivo"). See d'Arco, Della Economia zaga:Moneta, Arte, Storia, ed. S. Balbide Caro (Milan, 1995), 112-23, Politica,342. On the Gonzaga' s commission ofcasts, see Navarrini, "I at118. Pesie leMisure a Mantova," 118-19.

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