Ricerca storica e cartografica delle domus federiciane “fantasma” della regione del Principatus et Terra Beneventana

Historical and cartographic research about the ghost domus built by Frederick II in Principatus et Terra Beneventana regionDuring his reign Frederick II built a series of representative fortified constructions in southern Italy, and after reinforcing the defence line of the border with the State of the Church, he decided to build many residential estates called domus or palacium in the fundamental medieval textual source of Statutum de reparatione castrorum. This research is focused on the study of the landscape in the ancient region of Principatus et Terra Beneventana during the thirteenth century: it is noticed the presence of five imperial domus cited in the Statutum with the name domus Castellucci Battipallae, castrum et palacium Sarni, domus imperatoris in Ebulo, domus imperatoris Apicii and the Castel Belvedere Marano palace. Every domus was studied through a historical and cartographic analysis, and in case of the structure is not recognised on the territory it was organized a landscape analysis in order to propose a hypothetical position. The data that was gathered into ArcGIS software to define the probable locations of the ghost domus were the detailed routes of ancient roads related to the positions of the casalia (little rural communities that paid taxes to maintenance of the royal structures), the Church properties, the urban site, and the other castra and domus.