Salpi e il mestiere dell’abitare sulle sponde della laguna durante il Medioevo

The history of pre-modern settlement in the plain of the coastal Tavoliere, bathed by the Salapina palus, later Pantanum Salparum (modern Saline di Margherita di Savoia), did not conclude during the advanced 9th century, with the abandonment and the obliteration of the early medieval village established on the ruins of the Roman city of Salapia. Perhaps already between the 10th and early 11th centuries, the Salapian settlement nucleus began to reorganize itself in the western half of the ancient city of Roman foundation. This location was farther from the waters of the lagoon and more elevated in comparison to the surrounding landscape. Despite maintaining a strategic relationship with the wetland, a more suitable and protected location was chosen for the revitalization of the settlement. However, it was the advent of Norman feudal dominance at the end of the 11th century that marked the revival of the center of Salpi (that is the name of the medieval city). The settlement was redesigned on an extensive embankment surrounded by a deep moat, regaining the status of a civitas and a bishopric seat. The settled community was reorganized with new roles and hierarchies, and the ruling class underwent renewal. A new cycle of territorialization began, reigniting interactions with the surrounding environment. This included, in part, following established trends from the past (such as cereal cultivation, grazing, deforestation, valorization of fallow land, and management of marine and wetland resources) and, in part, shaping renewed agricultural landscapes (widespread cultivation of olive trees and vineyards).