Catania medievale attraverso i documenti d’archivio: appunti per un’archeologia giuridica della proprietà fondiaria tra Medioevo e prima età moderna

The city of Catania, founded in ancient times, was almost entirely rebuilt after the disastrous earthquake in 1693, which forever reshaped its urban spaces. Sources about the former city al- most entirely come from public archives, produced by jurists and officials often directly involved in the management of civic government. They portrayed the city through their own eyes and, in the collective memory, made it a true “city of jurists”. Through a research itinerary that exam- ines some of the available documents, from transcriptions of the Royal Chancellery of Palermo to notarial deeds, and finally the oldest map of the city dedicated to the jurist and bishop Nicolò Stizzia, this contribution aims to demonstrate that this type of investigation is possible and wor- thy of theoretical exploration, within the framework of a “legal archaeology” whose exact scien- tific boundaries remain to be explored.