Introduction

The studies collected here intend to offer different views and new research paths on the household economies of late medieval and early modern Italy. In our interpretation, the concept of “household” refers as much to a relational space ruled by social customs and legal norms as to the physical dimension of the house and landholdings. As for the term “economy”, we use it in its original meaning as a regulated management (nomos) of the household (oikos). We include, however, among the resource...