The first detailed attempt to examine critically the concept of 'subaltern' or alternative and peripheral spaces in the pre-modern city.

Explores the complex relations between the written word and medieval society by focusing on the proliferation of administrative and business documents during the so-called ‘long thirteenth century’.

Based on a radical reassessment of the historical documentation and a profound investigation of Malvasia’s art criticism, these volumes offer the most thorough treatment to date of the artist’s work.